A Jellicle's tale
by coolkat102
Summary: A story about how the cats we know and love came to live and proper in the junkyard, along with how they fare after Macavity's horrid trick of taking Deuteronomy at the last Jellicle ball.
1. A Jellicle's start

In a junkyard in the middle of London, in the deep of the night a cat's cry can be heard, echoing through the air before silence breaks and the air stands still.

A large grey and brown spotted tom runs through the yard, to the source of the scream, stopping front of his mates den, where a saddened cream and white striped cat, Jellyorum, exits. She looks the tom in the eyes and slowly shakes her head and she takes his paw and leads him into the den.

There, lying still as a rock, in her nest is Andromeda, a black spotted white manecoon queen, and next to her is a quiet little tiger spotted tom, eyes unopened, yet breathing small mewls as he yawns. A tired orange queen, with lepord spots and tiger stripes, sits in the corner looking with a sad smile at the small tom as it noses to it's mother to try and nurse the dead cat.

"Jenny…" The old brown tom sighs sadly.

"She left us as soon as the tom was out, Deuteronomy." The orange queen ays looking him in the eyes," We could only get one of the two kittens out. The other died in her when she did. It would've been a still born anyways."

"Oh, my poor Andromeda…" Deiteronomy sighs as he walks over to his mate and holds her still paw.

Her glassy eyes stare straight ahead, tears still fresh within the lids. Deuteronomy knew that is was from the sadness of not being able to watch her kits grow into fine Jellicles, not from the pain of her death itself. He sobs quietly as he lifts his paws to close her eyes, before looking to the small manecoon nestling beside the slightly warm queen, shivering for warmth.

"My son." Deuteronomy sobs as he quickly reaches down and grabs the tom, hugging him firmly and sweetly," my beautiful son."

"What will his name be, Deut?" The cream queen asks as she gently hugs him from behind.

"Andromeda said that she wanted our next tom to be named Tugger, but I wanted to name is Rumble, so I will combine the names." Deuteronomy says with a small sad smile," He will be Rum Tum Tugger."

"What a curious name." Jenny says with a small laugh.

"For a curious cat." Deuteronomy replies.

A silence fills the air once more as the three cats look at the tom-kit held in Deuteronomy's arms softly purrs, knowing it's being held by it's father. Jennyanydots, the orange tabby, finally breaks the silence with a sad and disheartening sigh.

"What will you tell the boys?" Jenny asks in a bitter monotone voice.

"Their mother has joined the Everlasting Cat in the sky, but has left us a Rum Tum Tugger in exchange." Deuteronomy says in a shaky voice.

"Oh, Deut." Jenny says looking at the large tom, wiping a silent tear from his cheek.

"I will be alright, Jenny." Deuteronomy sighs shakily," I must be alright. It's not the first mate I've lost. My boys need me, there's no use in breaking over a death."

"You're a very strong tom, Deuteronomy." Jellyorum sighs as she nuzzles the cheek of Deuteronomy," Now you should return to Macavity and Munkustrap. Show them their brother first, then tell them of Andromeda."

"Those boys loved their mother more than the world." Jenny says with a small sob," And poor Macavity…losing his second mother in his lifetime."

"They will be fine." Deuteronomy says semi-sourly," They're my sons, they can weather sorrow and loss, as I have."

With heavy hearts, Deuteronomy walks out of the den, holding the little Tugger closely. The night moon was high and full, a night that Andromeda would fawn over. Deuteronomy felt his hear pang with sadness but kept his eyes dry as he made the trek back to his den, the Jellicle leaders den.

As he came near the door, he heard the scurry of two tiny sets of paws, and opened his arms in time for a pair of young tom-kits to jump into his arms. A small silver tom-kit with black stripes nuzzled closely and purred, while a slightly larger ginger cat purred heavily as he crawled over the large brown tom.

"Hello my sons." Deuteronomy beamed at his two sons.

"Hello, father." Munkustrap, the silver tom-kit, says with a large smile showing his tiny sharp fangs.

"Hey, dad." Macavity, the ginger tom says leisurely before spotting the small package," Is that our new brother?"

"Brother?" Munkustrap asks excitedly.

"Yes, yes, my sons." Deuteronomy says happily," This is Rum Tug Tugger, you're new little brother."

Macavity and Munkustrap both look closely at the small tom-kit in Deuteronomy's arms. He's small and fluffy, with a mostly black coat, but with some leopard spot on his chest and sides. Munkustrap and Macavity look in awe at the tiny kit then look up to their father, both beaming with large smiles.

"May I hold him?" Munkustrap asks politely motioning his arms towards his little brother.

Dueteronomy nods with a smile and quietly hands over the small kitten to Munkustrap, who carefully took the small kit into his arms. The small Tugger stiffened for the first few seconds, but Munkustrap quietly whispers to the kit and it relaxes, snuggling close to his older brother.

Munkustrap smiles and starts to walk into the den, while Macavity climbs on top of Deuteronomy and looks around puzzled and sad. He climbs down and looks at Deuteronomy, the unspoken question Deuteronomy dreaded lying in the air.

"Where's mama?" Macavity asks, in a small kittenish tone as his ears flatten onto his skull.

"She…she's with the Everlasting Cat." Duteronomy says with a sad sigh.


	2. A Magical Night

Macavity was a special kitten. He inherited an…ability, from his birth mother, Mastrivia, the magical cat of the yard. When his emotions got the better of him, this ability would take form. The news of his raised mother, Andromeda, dying all for the dumb tom-kit that's supposed to be his new brother sent him into one of the worst fits he's had.

Lightning struck the ground, while there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and Macavity's ginger fur turning red and fiery. Deuteronomy couldn't pounce on his son fast enough, and Macavity took off into the den with a loud hiss.

A loud and guttural hiss came from the den, while Deuteronomy ran into the nesting area of his den. When he came inside he saw a terrifying sight. Munkustrap glaring, fangs bared, with his back to Macavity, a large gash on his back, while he hold Tugger tightly. A horrifyingly threatening guttural sound coming from Munkustrap, while Macavity hisses lunging at his younger brother.

"Macavity." Deuteronomy yells, snapping Macavity out of his trance.

Macavity looks angrily at his father for a moment before Munkustrap comes over and slaps Macavity hard with his free paw. Munkustrap winces from the pain of his gash, but still manages to glare at his big brother, while holding Tugger.

"Munkustrap." Deuteronomy yells, which makes Munku wince again.

"Macavity, Tugger is our brother." Munku hisses as he looks as Macavity.

"That bastard took mom away from us!" Macavity yells, trying to take the kit, but Munku quickly turns his body in front of the kit.

"Then we must protect him, shouldn't we?" Munku asks wearily," If she left just for him, that means we must treasure this new little brother as mother would want us to!"

"Boys!" Deuteronomy growled, and both boys stiffened.

Deuteronomy rushed over and took Tugger from Munkustrap, making the tiny kit yelp slightly. Dueteronomy cooed at the little kit to calm it down, before glaring at his two sons. Munkustrap looked to the floor and kneeled while clutching his left shoulder, where the gash starts. Macavity quickly followed to the ground next to Munkustrap.

"I'm very disappointed in your behaviors, boys." Deuteronomy says sternly," Macavity, you need to be in more control of your emotions."

Macavity looks to the ground and clicks his tongue. Munku looks at him worriedly, before looking up to his father. Deuteronomy is looking down to Tugger and carefully cooing so the whimpers will stop coming from the babes mouth.

"Father." Munku says, breaking Deuteronomy from his trance.

"Yes, Munkustrap?" Deuteronomy asks.

"I would like to go visit Aunt Jenny." Munku says slowly while clutching his shoulder," I would like Macavity to escort me there."

"That sounds like a good idea." Deuteronomy says with a small smile," It's only a small wound but it porbably hurts. Go and ask Jenny to help you clean and cloth the wound."

With a small, respectful head tilt, Munkustrap turns to his older brother and offers his paw with a smile. Macavity clicks his tongue again, but takes the paw and helps himself up. They walk out of the den together, into the clear and beautiful night.

Munkustrap needs Macavity's help to get down the large pile of junk that their den was located on. Once all the way down, the two both began the trek across the clearing towards Jennyanydot's den in silence. It wasn't until halfway through the clearing that Macavity stops dead in his tracks and looks to the ground, before looking to his injured younger brother.

"I…I'm sorry, Munk." Macavity says, small tears in his eyes," I'm so sorry."

Munku quietly walks up next to his brother and gently nuzzles his brothers cheek with a loud purr in his throat. Macavity looks to his brother before nuzzling him back. Munkustrap smiles widely and gives his brother a large hug.

"I know, Mac." He says happily," You would never intentionally hurt me. It's not your nature to hurt without thinking."

"Yeah…yeah, your right." Macavity says with a smile as he nuzzles his brother once more.

"Now, I need to get to Aunt Jenny." Munkustrap says with a smile.

The two continued their short trek with an eased silence filling the air between them. Macavity looked to the full moon and noticed for the first time, it certainly is beautiful tonight.


	3. Jenny and Skimble

Jennyanydot's was the Gumby cat of the jellicles, meaning she was the responsible mid-wife to the pregnant queens, and also a nurse to the jellicles for when they're injured. And though she may complain every now and again about the reckless kitten who hurt themselves for the third time this week, she loved her job.

It's a job she inherited from her mother, Tigerlil, an orange coated tabby much like herself. Jenny became the official Gumby cat when her mother was sent to the heavy side layer two years ago. Her mother had gotten very ill and could barely move, so she was happy her mother could find peace in the eternal cat, much like her big sister tonight.

Jenny is the daughter of Tigerlil and Bunkstrap, the oldest tom in the yard, and has two sisters and a brother. Her oldest sister, Andromeda, got her attributes mostly from their father, but inherited her kindness from their mother. Originally she was supposed to be the Gumby cat to take over for Tigerlil, but when Deuteronomy took her as his mate, Jenny decided to volunteer for the position, as to not cause unnecessary pain to Andromeda. Her second sister is Patches, a orange coated calico with a white face, who left the jellicles to be with her mate, Grumplestack, in a different tribe. She's happy, and that's all that matters in Jenny's heart.

Her brother, Titus, is the second in command protector of the yard, with his best friend Bismuth. Titus also takes after their father, a sleek black coat with two large orange splotches on his back, a very handsome tom. His mate is the most beautiful queen in the yard, Dimitri, a dark ginger cat with small leopard spots on her back with a white face and white stomach, bulging with a kitten in her womb. Which reminds Jenny that Dimitri's kitten is also due soon.

Oh, the news of Andromeda's death is going to shake Dimitri. They were best friends, sharing everything, and always happily chatting together when their mates were away. Once the dawn breaks on a new day, Deuteronomy will have to announce about Andromeda, and heartbreak will fill the yard again, as it did with Mastrivia's death against Growltiger.

No, she has to push that thought away, she thinks to herself, it's not the time to be mourning. A case might come in and she needs to greet them with dry eyes and a smile, like a good Gumby cat.

"Aunt Jenny?" Munkustrap's voice echoes into the den.

Jenny turns to face her adorable nephews in the doorway, only to gape at Munkustrap whose paws are covered with blood. She quickly rushes over to them an turns Munkustrap around to look at his back, and sure enough there was a long and semi-dep gash from his right shoulder almost down to his tail.

"Oh, my dear." Jenny sighs, gently touching the wound, causing Munkustrap to flinch.

She didn't have to ask what happened, she already knows in her heart. Macavity always loved Andromeda more than his own life. She was a great mother to the ginger kitten, and always treated him as her own, even praising his powers every time they manifested. It must have been quiet a shock to find out she had left him like that.

"Well, come and sit dear boy." Jenny says with a smile as she ushers Munkustrap towards a small table that she uses for her patients.

She quickly goes to her storage to get some disinfectant and bandages. When she comes back, she sees Macavity gently nuzzling his brother as he purrs sadly. Munkustrap smiles, with sadness in his glass green eyes, as he purrs. Jenny can't help but smile at the antics of her nephews, knowing that they're just trying to comfort each other by being near.

"Alright boys, I'm going to need a little room if I want to get this done quickly." She says with a small laugh.

Macavity looks to her in surprise before nodding and moving away from Munkustrap to sit on the floor close by. Jenny smiles and begins to clean the wound, ignoring the small yelps from Munkustrap, and the small growls from Macavity.

She holds herself together well. Her smile doesn't falter and her pleasant talk doesn't cease as she works on her small nephew. That is, until a small scratch at the entrance takes her attention away from Munkustrap's bandages. Her eyes glued to the entrance as her mate walks in the door.

Skimbleshanks is known as the Railway Cat in the tribe, because he's gone for four days a week to escort the mail train to its destination. It can't leave without him, or so he loves to boast. Oh, but she loves the silly tom with all her heart, and just the sight is enough to make tears flow into her eyes.

"Oh, my beautiful and lovely Jenny." Skimble purrs with a large smile on his face and bright green eyes.

Those few words broke a sort of wall in Jenny, and tears flow down from her cheeks as she sets down the bandage and rushes over to her orange tabby mate. She let's out small sobs as she nuzzles deep into his chest. Skimble looks at his nephews in the room with shock and their eyes also fill with sorrow, and silent tears fall down their cheeks.

"A…Andromeda…" Jenny chokes out.

Without another word, Skimble wraps his paws around Jenny and purrs loudly, as if that will take away her pain. He nuzzles her closely and gently rubs her back as she sobs into his coat. He looks to his nephews who bite their lips to try and avoid crying, unsuccessfully.

Skimble quietly releases one paw and beckoned the boys over silently with kindness in his eyes. Without a word, Munkustrap and Macavity quickly bolt into Skimble's arms, crying loudly and wailing. It's common for toms to cry this hard when their mother dies, so Skimble quietly hugs the sobbing lot as he purrs to try and take away any pain they might be feeling.

Twenty minutes, it takes twenty minutes for all the tears to be shed and for everyone to relax. Jenny, Macavity and Munkustrap all hold tightly to the Orange Railway cat, who smiles as he purrs and gently pats the backs of the one's in his arms.

"U…uncle Skimble…" Munkustrap says weakly.

"Yes, my lad." Skimble replies quietly.

"Is…is mama really…really with the Everlasting cat?" Munku asks quietly with small tears flowing down his cheeks.

"Aye, lad." Skimble says with a small squeeze," Andromeda is now up in the heavy side layer, watching over all us in the junkyard. I know that she'll be watching you boys grow up for the rest of your lives until you go and meet her again in the heavy side layer yourself."

"B…but, I'm really gonna miss her." Munku says with a small sob.

Jenny repositions herself in Skimble's arms so she can tightly hug her small silver nephew who has pretended to be so strong for so long. Macavity also wiggles out of Skimble's grip and comes over to Munku and nuzzles him gently as he hugs Munku.

"Hey, lads, can you hear that?" Skimble asks quietly, and silence falls in the den.

"Hear what, Uncle Skimble?" Macavity asks, looking to the tom with his caramel eyes red and puffy from tears.

"Just listen for another second, my boy." Skimble says with a smile.

Silence fills the den once more, with only the small whistle of the wind in the entrance to disturb the peace. Munkustrap and Macavity look puzzled at their uncle.

"Can't you hear it?" Skimble asks happily," It's Andromeda. She's singing beautifully through the air. Her mother is joining her in the chorus, along with my mother."

The wind picks up slightly, and Skimble let's ot a small hum.

"Now the everlasting cat is joining. It's a whole choir of cats who've left us are trying to tell us they're hear." Skimble says with a heartwarming smile," You just have to listen."

Munkus and Mac close their eyes and listen to the whistle of the wind, and though it's slight they can hear it. A chorus singing softly, a lovely tone of happiness and peace that makes the kits smile as they open their eyes and look to each other.

"I hear it." Macavity says with a smile.

"I do too." Munkus says with a smile.

"As do I." Jenny adds with a large smile.

"They're always with us, dear kits." Skimble sighs," We might not see them, but they're always right next to us. It's the Everlasting Cat's gift to us, so that we might not feel lonely. Andromeda will always be right next to you, singing you to sleep and watching over you."

Skimble releases his grip on the three and smiles down on all of them. All three give the smile back before Munkus is led back to the table for Jenny to finish bandaging Munkus.

Once she's done, she send the boys back, and they say goodbye politely before leaving the den quietly, leaving Skimble and Jenny alone in the den.

Before Jenny can speak, Skimble pulls her back into a hug and gently begin grooming his mates head. She giggles and wraps her paws around Skimble. They stay like that until the sun rises, and Deuteronomy stand on his tire to make the announcement.


	4. The Broken News

A cry echoes in the day after Deuteronomy that Andromeda has passed in the night. The cause being a large black tom, with white fur from his nose and chin going to his chest, as well as a dark ginger cat. They both sob and clutch those close to them, Dimitri grabs Titus who also has quiet tears falling down his cheeks, Bunkstrap grabs Jennyanydots and Skimbleshanks and sobs into their fur as they purr and nuzzle the old tom.

"Send word to the jellicles at their human's homes, and Patches, alert her of her sisters passing." Deuteronomy orders in his strong voice, though it shakes slightly with delivery.

Munkustrap and Macavity sit at the bottom of the junk pile, facing the crowd of jellicles, trying to hold their tears back, but sniffling barely. Sudden footsteps surprise the two tom-kits, as Alonzo tackles Munkustrap, while Coricopat and Tantomile tackle Macavity to the ground.

The fellow kits cuddle their friends and purr loudly, while Alonzo's mother, Stratskin, comes over and cuddles around the kittens, making sure she's touching each one while wrapping her tail around the sad kittens.

"What of the kittens?" Dimitri asks up to Deuteronomy, who looks at her with a sad smile.

"We can welcome Rum Tug Tugger, the curious cat, and son of Andromeda and myself." Deuteronomy says as he reaches behind him to grab the small kit from behind him.

"How will the kit feed without a mother?" Grizabella, the black cat sister to Dimitri, says with a sad sigh," You cannot expect a newborn to eat mice out of the womb."

"I will give it milk." Dimitri snaps back to Grizabella," My kitten is due any day now, I should have plenty to spare for the little one."

"Thank you, Dimitri." Deuteronomy says with a smile," I really appreciate it."

Dimitri slowly makes her way to the top of the pile and grabs the small kit who mewls sadly at being taken from its father. Dimitri coos it to sleep as she makes her way back down and into the arms of Titus.

"That is all to be said about this for today. We will bury her a sundown and send her to the Eternal Cat." Deuteronomy announces, marking the end of the assembly.

The adult cats all walk back to their dens and their normal relaxation spots to try and get over the blow. Stratskin stay by the sides of the kits, who sob in their friend's embrace. She starts to groom the kits, and is soon joined by Exotica, who begins to groom her two twins, Coricopat and Tantomile, much to their displeasure.

Deuteronomy sits on his tire and looks around the junkyard at his family. He first looks to the top of the old red truck on the far north side of the yard, to see the four older cats of the yard. Bunkstrap sobs into Tweedle Dee's arms. Asparagus the theater cat, youngest of the four, sits gently rubbing his friends back, while Oliver sobs quietly in the sunlight.

Tweedle Dee has a male twin named Tweedle Dum, but he ascended to the heavy side layer at the last jellicle ball, following his mate, Hera, and his daughter, Mastrivia, who both perished taking down the notorious Growltiger just last year. Her mate is Nathaniel, who passed two years back due to a hit and run coming from his human's house. She has three children in the jellicle yard, Dimitri, Grizabella and Jellyorum, with Jellyorum being the oldest of the three.

Asparagus the theater cat, is not as old as the other cats but still is old enough to relax and look upon his children. He's a solid brown coat cat with orange and white stripes on his face. His mate's name was Ceril, a brown cat with a white face, who died three years prior due to a peke attack. His children are Exotica and Asparagus Jr, both brown cats with small white markings, but Exotica being almost solidly brown. He also had a queen-kit named Lexia, but she died with her mother in the peke attack, so he knows the feeling of losing a daughter.

Oliver is an immigrant orange tabby from Scotland, who was found and brought into the jellicles with Skimbleshanks tight in his jaws as a kit. He only has one eye, but he won't tell anyone his past before joining the jellicles, saying that the future is the only thing that matters to him now, not his past. He viewed Andromeda as a daughter, as he does with Jenny, so this loss really strikes him to the core.

Deuteronomy then looks to the eastern plane of the yard, where a few adults sit, chatting idley and singing softly, as jellicles do when they feel down. Jellyorum and Jennyanydots sit on top the broken rocking chair, where they're soon joined by Skimble and Asparagus Jr., Jellyorum's mate. Jelly and Jenny sob quietly as their mates hold them and gently groom them.

Under the rocking chair, in a broken television set, is Dimitri, giving milk to the small Tugger, along with Titus keeping guard in front of her, and Grizabella gracefully grooming herself in the sunlight. Cho, Exotica's mate, a Chinese short hair, chats quietly to Bismuth, and they look worriedly to their mates, taking care of the kittens.

In the middle of the yard, the new adult cats, Tumblebrutus, son of Jellyorum, and Victor, an adopted jellicle who didn't have a mother or father in the tribe, play by pouncing on each other, trying to make the air lighter and happier.

Deuteronomy then looked down at his kits, surrounded by their friends. His sons sob into their friends arms, Munkus more into Alonzo's, his best friends. Exotica and Stratskin chat between themselves as the kittens cry between them, eyes wet but not releasing tears. Those two are indeed the strongest queens in the yard, protecting the kits while fighting their own emotions in losing a friend.

Bismuth and Cho get up from chatting, then call for Skimble, Titus and Gus Jr. telling them to help and get the missing jellicles. They chat for a few seconds before they all take off in different directions.

Deuteronomy got up from his tire. He has to prepare the grave for his beloved.


	5. The Funeral

Skimbleshanks was the last of the Tom's to return, with Bustopher Jones at his heals, gasping for air. He looks around the yard, seeing the somber faces in the eerie quiet, only interrupted by the muted sobs of Patches, into Bunkstrap's chest, who's long since dried his eyes of tears. Bustopher's eyes land on his older brother, Deuteronomy, who looks worse for wear.

Bustopher quickly makes his way to his brother's side, when he spots her corpse. In a hole just deep enough to hold the queens breathless form, looking peaceful as if she's asleep. Bustopher can only bite his lip as he focuses on getting to Deuteronomy.

Once at the top of the pile, he greets Deuteronomy, then his three nephews, Macavity, Munkustrap and Tugger. He sit's next to Deuteronomy in his gentlemanly manor. He observes and is astounded that the whole jellicle tribe has come to attend, even Christoff, the housecat. Even Mastivia could get Christoff to come back to this junkyard.

It only proves that Andromeda was truly one loved by all in the tribe. Which makes her sudden passing all the more painful for the tribe.

"Jellicles, thank you for being here." Deuteronomy's voice booms over the crowd," We are here today to send the dear Andromeda to the heavy-side layer to be with the Everlasting Cat. She died while delivering our newest member, Rum Tum Tugger. She will be sent off with the song…of our…of our people…"

Deuteronomy's voice trembles as he looks to the corpse of his beloved. Tears begin to fill his eyes anew and small mutter goes through the crowd.

 _Up, up, up…_

Skimbleshank's voice booms over the muttering.

 _Past the Rustle Hotel_ …

Exotica joins in.

 _Up, up, up, up, to the Heavy Side Layer…_

Next was Asparagus, senior and junior, followed by Titus, then Jenny, then Jelly, followed by the rest of the jellicle choir, leaving Dueteronomy to be the last to join in.

Once the kits got the jist of the song, they sang where they could, until their chorus boomed over the junkyard. The moonlight seems to intensify around the grave of the queen, leading everyone to sing louder, ignoring the tears in their eyes.

 _Up, up, up_

 _Past the Jellicle Moon!_

 _Up, up, up, up, to the Heavy Side Layer!_

 _The mystical divinity_

 _Of unashamed felinity_

 _Round the cathedral rang 'Vivat'_

 _Life to the Everlasting Cat!_

As the song finishes, the moonlight fades, and the tears fall down all the cats cheeks, all the cats look down to the queen's body, a smile now on her face as she shines with the blessing of the Everlasting Cat.

Titus and Bismuth quickly jump down to her body and cover her with dirt, leaving back to their mates after her body is no longer visible. Everyone takes a few moments to breath in and look back up to their great leader, drying tears from his eyes and holding the paws of his young sons.

"May Andromeda rest in peace with the Everlasting Cat." Deuteronomy booms, giving his boy's paws a squeeze," Life to the Everlasting Cat."

"Life to the Everlasting Cat!" The jellicles repeat to their leader.

The cats then disperse into their own dens, making sure to not stay out while their leader makes him way back to his den.

When Deuteronomy enters his den behind his boys, he immediately sends them to their nesting room, and they obey with a formal head tilt, with Munkustrap taking Tugger into the room in his arms.

Once the boys are in their nesting room, Deuteronomy walks into his own nesting room and quietly cries himself to sleep.


	6. The Attack

Not even three days after Andromeda's funeral, Dimitri gave birth to her own little queen kit. It's red with black spots on its back, just like her mother, and her name is Bombalurina. Even out of the womb, it's pretty apparent that she might be a bit of a flirt and a little bit all for one.

Everything was peaceful for the next month and a half, except for the surprise birth of Cassandra to Exotica. Cori and Tanto were so happy at the arrival of their sister, treating her as more of a queen than Bomba.

But now we sit here today, watching as Munkustrap takes Bomba and Tugger out on their first major exploration of the junkyard. Bomba and Tugger haven't gotten along at all, even when nursing together, Bomba would always try to make sure Tugger didn't get as much milk as she got. They can't even walk a few feet without being at each other throats, even the adults are convinced that she hates him to the bone, and the feeling is mutual in Tugger.

Anyways, Munku walks calmly between the two kits as they bicker and take in the surroundings of the junkyard. Everything is peaceful, until a loud thudding of giant paws thunder in the ground, and the sound heavy panting snaps Munku into alert. He places his paws in front of the kits before shoving them behind him and forcing his ears to his skull.

Suddenly, a small golden and black kit turns the corner and runs full force into Munku, knocking him off his feet and to his ground. She heaves heavily, her breath hot as she quickly looks up to the silver tom, her eyes full of fear and tears.

"What's wrong?" Munku asks quickly going back into his upright stance, holding the queen-kit.

"M…mama…" She breaths out, before her eyes turn up and she falls against Munku's chest heavily.

Munku quickly puts his nose next to hers, and thankfully she's still breathing, she's only passed out. His relief is short lived, though, as a loud snarl snaps him back to reality. He holds the queen kit and ushers the kits behind him to begin running. He starts sprinting, only to see the two kits are much slower than him, and if he made it to the yard, there's a likely chance they wouldn't.

Another loud growl, and Munku makes a split second decision. He quickly runs back and shoves the queen-kit into Tugger's paws, before taking up a defensive stance behind the kits.

"Take her and go back to the yard!" Munku yells behind him," Get dad and Bismuth, and tell them where I am. Now go!"

Tugger opens his mouth in protest, only to have Munku quickly turn to him and let out a loud hiss. Bomba gets the message and quickly takes Tugger's paw and starts sprinting away from Munku. Tugger only looks back at his brother, as a large and terrifying creature with large fangs and snout turns the corner with anger in its eyes.

He feels only fear as he watches Munku jump on the beast and begin clawing at it. Tugger quickly turns around only one thought in his head,' _Munku's gonna die, Munku's gonna die._ '.

"Bomba, take the kit, I need to sprint ahead and get help." Tugger says, his voice trembling with panic.

"We both know I'm faster Tugger." Bomba says glaring at the tom.

"Munku will die if I don't go now Bomba!" Tugger yells, throwing off the queen," Put your pride aside and let me go."

Bomba bites her lip before nodding and maneuvering her paws under the unconscious kitten. As soon as Tugger feels the pressure of the kitten off his fur, he takes off like a bolt towards the main yard, leaving Bomba in his dust.

Tugger navigates the junk piles as if he already knew them by heart, turning at a moment's notice until he bursts into the main yard, startling all inhabitants who look to him. Tugger gasps trying to speak, but can't seem to. He takes his claws and shoves them into his side, to make him talk.

"Munkus' fighting a Peke!" Tugger yells out.

The adults all seem to be frozen in shock, but only for a moment until Bismuth, Titus and Deuteronomy sprint over the gasping tom.

"Where?" Bismuth asks quickly.

Tugger quickly turns and points a paw to where he came from, and like the wind, the toms shoot off. Tugger's eyes follow them, with him unable to move his feet, until Bombalurina breaks into the yard, panting as much as he is. He sees his friend and smiles, until his own vision becomes black and he falls to the ground.

Bomba watches Tugger fall down, and the adults rushing over to them and something in her snaps. She runs over to Tugger and sets the queen kit next to him before standing over them, fangs bearded and letting out a loud guttural hiss to all the adults coming closer.

The cats all stop, surprised at the small queen's actions. No one dares to move one paw towards the queen, as they know how sharp a kits teeth and claws can be. The only emotion in her eyes is fear as she glares towards the older cats.

Dimitri is the one to break through the crowd of jellicles, sprinting over to her kit and hugging her tightly, even as Bomba bites and claws at her relentlessly. Dimitri coos her kit until she calms down and looks up to her mother.

"Munkustrap." Bomba mutters, tears in her eyes," Munkustrap's gonna die!"

"No, no, no, my kitten." Dimitri coos," Munkustrap is a strong tom, he can hold off for your father to arrive."

"Tugger…" Bomba starts looking down to her friend.

"He's exhausted and will be fine once we get him into a den." Dimitri coos again," You've done well, protecting him like that. As well as this other kitten. I'm very proud of you."

Bomba gives one more look up to her mother, before smiling, and her herself fainting from exhaustion, leaving Jenny and Jelly to quickly rush over and pick up the kits and take them to Jenny's den.

Munku stares straight at the large Peke in front of him, while listening to the sound of the kit's running away from him. He's scared, who wouldn't be when facing something three times your size? But he crouches down, fangs bared and ears pinned back.

The Peke tries to attack first, lunging at the fledging-tom, but Munkustrap easily jumps to avoid it, and lands on it's head, sinking his claws deep into the snout of the beast. The Peke lets out a small yelp, before it begins thrashing about, trying to get Munku off it.

Munku raises his paw and quickly shoves it in a place he knows will do massive amounts of damage to the Peke, its eye. When the paw enters, it's gooey and wet, causing a hard shiver to go through Munku, until he feels out something hard, and firmly attaches his claw to it.

The Peke, screeching in pain, rams it's head into an old tire rim, forcing Munku to release his grip on the Peke's snout, but not the eye. Munku flies off the Peke, landing hard against the pile of junk, pain running throughout his body, and in his right paw, a large cloudy orb like thing with his claws sunk into it. He looks up to the Peke who's thrashing about, screeching as a large trail of blood pours out the socket where left eye had been.

Munku tries to get back on his feet, but as he gets up his head goes fuzzy and the world seems to spin. However, he can make out the Peke, stopping it's thrashing and staring directly at the silver tom. It lets out a roar as it charges, and Munku can't help but accept that he'll die, until a large black and grey blur tackles the Peke to the ground.

The Peke yelps loudly, as a large roar of hissing echoes from three toms. Munku suddenly finds himself is a large embrace being semi-suffocated by the long fur of his father. He can only hear as the Peke yelps and runs away. His head gets clearer, but still hurts.

Munku pushes away from Deuteronomy to touch his forehead, forgetting that the Peke's lens on still stuck on his claws. He quickly retracts his claws and forces the disgusting thing off. He looks up to see Deuteronomy, Titus and Bismuth looking at him with concern. Munkus feels his head again, and beings it down to see a small red tint on his fur.

"My son." Deuteronomy says with a relieved sigh, pulling Munkustrap into a hug once again.

"I'm…I'm fine dad." Munku sighs breathlessly before pushing away," Tugger and Bomba?"

"Safe in the yard, all thanks to you." Titus says with a smile," And I can't thank you enough for saving my daughter."

Munku smiles to Titus, who has small tears in his eyes. Bismuth quickly walks over and gently nuzzles Munku's head before hoisting him up onto his back. Munku doesn't fight it, in fact he doubts he could even walk at the moment anyways.

The trek back to the yard seems like an eternity, but Munku forces himself to stay conscious, purring to try and take away the pain he feels. It doesn't seem to be working, but it's keeping him awake.

Once they enter the main yard, it seems like every cat rushes over, all with worry painted on their faces. Macavity leads the ground, sprinting over to Munkustrap on Bismuth's back. Munkustrap smiles at his older brother, and Macavity almost immediately starts crying.

"You dumb kitten!" Macavity yells," I couldn't bear it if you left me too."

Munku slowly makes his way off Bismuth to sit next to his brother and gently nuzzle his brother, purring happily. Until Jenny comes over and quickly scoops him up and walks to her den. Cats trying to stand in front of her get a glare that's sharp enough to pierce your heart.

"You young mister, how dare you try to put us through this." Jenny mumbles as they enter her den," A Peke. A Peke! I could understand a bird, or a mouse, but a Peke?"

As she enters the den, Munku sees Tugger and Bomba asleep on blankets on the floor, with the mystery kit cuddling close to Bomba, who seems to squeeze her protectively. Munku can't help but smile and feel proud that he was able to save them.

Jenny semi-violently puts Munkustrap on her exam table before mumbling to herself into her supply room and coming out with bandages, a needle and threat along with clean white cloth. She places the materials next to Munku before quickly grabbing him in a big hug, and although she doesn't sniff, he feels her warm tears falling on his back.

She turns him around, and cleans a large gash on the back of his head. If he had hit that tire with even a little more force, his skull would be cracked, but thankfully it's not. Jenny cleans the wound before threading the needle and taking a breath.

"I'm guessing I'm not going under for this, eh?" Munkustrap says with a trembling laugh, he's always been afraid of that needle.

"There's too much of a risk that you won't wake up, Munk." Jenny says with a heavy voice," How about you tell me about your fight, or about Macavity or Tugger. If you keep talking, then you won't feel as much pain."

Suddenly, with a thunderous roar, a pack of the kitten's flow into Jenny's den, starting with Alonzo, who jumps onto Munku, making him fumble a little but smile at his best friend. Alonzo is quickly followed by Tanto and Cori, then Macavity and finally followed by Skimble, who looks at Jenny with an apologetic smile.

"Munkustrap, are you alright?" Alonzo asks with tears in his eyes," Are you fatally injured? Did you die?"

"No, I didn't die." Munku laughs while giving a hug to Alonzo.

Tanto and Cori stare intensely at Munku, slightly freaking him out, before they give relieved smiles and walk up to Munku and nuzzle his cheeks gently. They then look to Jenny with elated faces.

"He has no internal bleeding." Coricopat says with a sigh.

"And there are no broken bones either." Tantomile finishes for her brother.

"Well, that's quite lucky for a Peke attack." Jenny sighs," Now, Munk, how about you tell your friends about your fight while I do what's necessary."

Munku looks to Jenny with a small, scared smile, before smiling and turning to his friends. He then begins to regale the tale of how he forced the still asleep Tugger and Bomba to run as he fought. While Munku talks Macavity slowly moves next to Munku and slips his paw into Munku's. As soon as Jenny inserts the needle, Munku stops talking for a second while he grips Macavity's paw with so much force, that Macavity thinks his paw might break.

Munk continues his story, about how he easily evaded attacks and how he took the Peke's eye, to which even Macavity was impressed to hear about. Munku keeps talking clearly until Jenny finishes stitching his head. She pats his back and puts a small kiss on his cheek, salty from the silent tears on Munku's cheek.

As soon as Munku finished the story, Jenny tells Skimble to escort the kittens back to their parents, but makes Munku stay on the table. Jenny continues to bandage the small cuts and bruises on Munku that also resulted from the fight. Her heart is heavy each time Munku flinches, such a strong nephew she has. Her sister would be proud at her little Silver tom.

"Any chance I can sleep soon?" Munku asks quietly.

"I'm afraid not." Jenny says sadly," It's still too early, you might not wake up if you do sleep. I'm sorry, but can you tough it out for a little longer?"

Munku turns to look at his aunt and gives her a large smile, wiping a tear from her cheek and nods. He then turns to look at the kittens asleep on the blankets. He smiles warmly at the bunch, which causes Jenny to smile as well as she gives Munku another hug.

"You're a hero, Munk." She sighs," Your decision saved these kit's lives."

As Munku opens his mouth to respond, the sound of shifting blankets takes their attention back to the three kittens. The golden queen slowly sits up and lets out a large yawn, before rubbing her eyes and looking dazed at Jenny and Munku.

"Good morning." Munku says with a beaming smile," How was your nap?"

She looks at Munku and opens her mouth to respond, before her eyes widen and she looks around frantically. She stands up quickly, only to have her legs give out on her. She opens her mouth again to say something, but silences herself again, instead allowing her eyes to fill with tears that fall down as she sobs.

"Oh, dear." Jenny says as she walks over and gently holds the kitten," What's your name, little kit?"

"M…my name's Demeter…"


	7. Demeter's tale

Demeter's life has been a good one, at least for the three weeks she actually has existed outside her mother's womb. She was born in a shoebox next to the bakery, so her first memory is of the smell of fresh baked biscuits, not a bad memory if she does say so herself. For the first week of her life, the baker's daughter was kind to the kitten and her mother, giving them warm biscuits and cream to eat and drink, but they were quickly forced out when the baker found out.

Demeter's mother was a golden cat much like herself, but with fierce blue hazel eyes, compared to Demeter's blue eyes. Demeter's mother carried her kitten all throughout London, seemingly looking for something, but not stopping to even answer her daughter's questions during the day. At night, she would find small hiding spots for which the two would sleep until the morning.

"Where are we even going?" Demeter finally asks one day while her mother keeps treding forwards.

"To the Jellicle tribe." Her mother says in a hushed voice to her daughter, not loosing focus," They'll help us."

"Help us from what?"

"Help us escape the bad cats who are chasing us." Her mother sighs sadly," Before you were born, your father and I belonged to a tribe of cats called the Polteasers. We were all very similar looking, we were all golden with black backs and bright eyes, a real family. Then a group of cat criminals came and massacred the adult cats and stole the kittens. Your father fought bravely so that I could get away and get you away from there."

"So the Jellicles are like Polteasers?" Demeter asks with ears perked.

"Not exactly." Her mother laughs," Jellicles accept any cat, so there's a lot of diversity. They're the most accepting tribe in London, and the most powerful. However, they're hidden deep in a junkyard in the center of the city. I need to find the junkyard before I can the jellicles, and who knows how big the yard actually is."

"So, we're headed to the junkyard?"

"Precisely, my smart kitten." Her mother says as she nuzzles her little kitten.

They keep walking at a quick pace, before her mother suddenly stops. Demeter obviously runs into her mothers rear. She sits on the ground, rubbing her nose while following her mothers gaze up to a sign that she can't make out, but her mother's face is elated, so she can only guess it's the junkyard. Her mother quickly picks her up and sprints into the gates of the yard.

It had taken two weeks to get to the yard, and another six days for Demeter's mother to run out of care while searching for the jellicles in the yard. On the morning of the first day of the third week, Demter's mother slowly limps forwards, followed by her kit, with tears in her eyes.

"I know they're here. They have to be here." Her mother cries as she moves forwards," Your father was so positive that they would help us. They have to be here."

Then in an instant, Demeter's life changed in front of her eyes. The beast came out of no where, knocking her mother to the ground with a sickening thud. The beast has long fangs, and is at least three times Demeter's size. She's frozen to the ground as the beast turns and locks eyes on her. Before the beast can move however, Demeter's mother gets up and pounces on top of the beast.

"Run, Demeter!" She hisses as she claws at the beasts back.

Demeter snaps out of her shock and follows her mother instructions, sprinting away from the beast, not even turning around to hear the terrified hiss and sickening crunch noise followed by a grotesque silence. Demeter tries to keep her tears in her eyes, knowing her mother had just sacrificed herself to save her, as she sprints as fast as she can forwards and through small gaps.

It doesn't take long for the beast to begin chasing the small kitten. Her heart pounds with fear, fear that she'll be next on the beasts plate. She sprints for ten solid minutes, with the beast following her from a distance. Her panting hurts, her breath is hot and her head is spinning, but she can't stop sprinting, not until she finds a place to hide.

She takes another sharp turn, but unexpectedly rams into a mass a bit bigger than herself. Her head pounds as she opens her eyes to meet the glassy green eyes of a tom cat, a little bigger than her, but with a beautiful coat of silver. He stares at her with concern and asks a question that she can't make out. Her heart races in her ears, semi-deafening her.

"M…mama?" She asks, before her consciousness fades and the world goes black.

Now she's awoken once more to see the Tom, covered in blood, but with a smile on his face and relief in his large eyes. She then looks around frantically, she's in a warm and cozy environment, new to her. She then looks at the orange tabby cat tending to the silver tom's wounds.

She feels a pressure on her hip and looks down to see a maroon queen with a similar coat pattern to hers, and a golden manecoon tom heaving slightly. She looks back to the tom, and opens her mouth to ask about her mother, but knows it's useless. She's dead, she heard it happen.

"Oh, dear." She hears the tabby say in a sweet voice before she's wrapped in a large embrace," What's your name, little kit?"

"D…Demeter…" Demeter says with a small stutter due to shock of the sudden embrace.

"Well, Demeter, my name's Jennyanydots." The tabby says as she pats Demeter's back," I'm the ol' Gumby cat for the jellicle tribe."

"Did you say jellicle?" Demeter asks quickly as she pushes the queen away.

"Yes, my dear, this is the home of the jellicle cats." Munkustrap says, pulling the kittens attention to him," My name's Munkustrap, second son of the current jellicle leader, Deuteronomy."

"And your savior." Jenny says with a smile," He fought the Peke that chased you while Bombalurina and Rum Tum Tugger ran back to the yard to get you back here. They're the one's holding your side at the moment."

Demeter once again quickly looks down to the kittens holding her gently. She feels tears filling her eyes, but she quickly wipes them away. These cats are just like her mom has said, kind to every cat. She looks up to Munkustrap again, even to the point of sacrificing themselves for a random kitten and fighting a beast.

"Oh, Bombalurina put up a terrifying act of protection over you." Jenny laughs," She wouldn't let any adults get close to you. Even her mother got a good mauling from trying to take you from her."

"You know that some of the adults don't know how to handle a kitten." The tired voice of a small queen says from beside Demeter says.

Bomba slowly sits up and let's out a large yawn before wincing slightly. She gently grooms her paws before looking to Demeter and smiling, then beginning to groom the kit. Demeter doesn't know what to do so she looks to the older cats, who smile, trying to stifle their laughter. Demeter decided to accept it, it actually feels very relaxing. She then tries to move slightly to move her legs, only to realize how much they actually ache.

"Ouch…" Demeter says quietly.

"What's wrong?" Bomba asks with concern heavy in her voice. The sincerity almost hurts.

"My…my muscles…" Demeter says quietly.

Bomba wraps her arms around the golden kit and purrs softly and quietly, calming Demeter. Demeter gently nuzzles under Bomba's chin, before she moves back shocked at her actions.

"I'll get you a hot water blanket." Jenny says with a smile," Would you like one as well Bomba?"

"Yes, aunty Jenny." Bomba says with a smile as her paws squeeze Demeter.

Suddenly, her muscles relax only to completely remove from Demeter as Bomba sprints over to Munku and purrs loudly as she nuzzles and hugs his legs, tears flowing down her cheeks. Munku laughs and gives a small smile, gently patting Bomba's head. Bomba then runs back over, next to the manecoon kit, ruffling his hair before hitting him, making him sit up quickly.

"Whaz goin' on?" Tugger slurs before he looks to Bomba and scowls," Did you have to hit me?"

"Would you have woken up otherwise?" Bomba sighs with a smile," Anyways, look."

Bomba points to Munku who smiles at his little brother. Tugger goes silent before sprinting into his brothers best and meowing loudly as his tears fall down his face. Demeter is stunned at the sight, but doesn't say anything, before she's enraptured in another tight hug by Bomba, who begins to groom her again.

"Now, now kittens." Jenny says as she walks into the room," You're all hurt. I need you to calm it down and place these towels on your joints."

"But Aunty…" Tugger whines.

"No butts…" Jenny sighs as she picks up the kitten and places him next to the small queens," Munk needs his rest as well. I can't have you crawling on him if he's hurt."

"Are you okay, Munkustrap?" Demeter asks in a small voice while looking at the silver tom.

The other cats all look at the kit in surprise, but Munkustrap smiles warmly at the queen and sighs. He forces his way to his feet and walks over and gently rustles her head fur, causing Bomba to growl a little until her pats her head as well, then Tuggers.

"I'm fine as long as you three are fine." Munku says with a large smile," And if that means not being able to sleep and fighting another Peke, then I'd do it without fail."

Everyone laughs, except Demeter who just looks at the tom in awe. Jenny walks over and hands each other the kit's their own hot blanket, and Tugger and Bomba sleep almost as soon as the blanket touches their skin, but Demeter stays up, along with Munkustrap.

"Is this really the jellicle tribe?" Demeter asks softly as she nestles into the warmth.

"Yes, it really is." Jenny says with a laugh," Why do you doubt it?"

"Because we've been looking for a week and couldn't find you." Demeter says with tears forming in her eyes," I gave up hope after the first day, but she didn't…she tried her best to find you…"

"I'm sorry if this is a prying question…" Munku says as he looks at the queen next to him," but who is this 'she'?"

"My mother…" Demeter says sadly.

"Your mother is still out there?" Munk says with a worried face," We have to get a search party together to find her."

"No, you don't…she died." Demeter sighs out, her tears stinging her eyes," she was killed by that, 'Peke'? Is that what you called it?"

"Yes, Peke dogs roam this yard, but we hold them off quite well. It's apparently been a few years since we've lost a family member to a Peke." Munku says," But I've only been here for four months."

"You look much older." Demeter says with a smile," Well, she was killed by the Peke. Her neck was snapped, she's gone. It probably went and ate her corpse after you fought it back."

"We could always go see if we can find her." Munku purrs as he gently pats her head.

"It's fine." Demeter says coldly," I'd rather not see her body. It'd make my whole situation to real. I mean, three weeks. Three weeks out and I've already lost everything."

Her eyes let tears fall. She tries to brush them away quickly, but Munku holds her paw and scoots closer, gently rubbing his head on her cheek and purring. She turns to the tom and grabs him in a hug, sobbing loudly and sinking her claws into Munkus back.

"You haven't lost everything." Munku purrs," You're welcome to stay with the jellicles."

"I don't think she has a choice." Jenny laughs," You saw how Bomba fawns over her. The spoiled queen found something she wants, and you know how Dimitri loves to give her queen everything she wants."

"See?" Munku says with a small laugh," You already have a family, and a sister, and a lot of playmates. If you would like, I'll introduce you tomorrow, if Bombalurina doesn't first."

Demeter only sobs into Munku's fur until she quietly falls asleep in his arms.


	8. A Hard Night

All's silent for a long time as Munku sits and pets the kits as they gently snore in their deep sleep. Jenny finishes cleaning him up and sits quietly next to him, crocheting with a smile on her face. She occasionally looks up to her nephew, content that he's not sleeping but caring for the kittens.

After who knows how long it's been when Titus comes in, his presence large as usual. He's followed closely by Skimble, who can't help but smile looking at the sight.

"Well, would you look whose come?" Jenny says with a smile looking to Munku who looks behind him.

"It's bed time for the kittens." Titus says with a large smile.

"Ah, Uncle Titus." Munku says with a smile," Meet your new daughter, Demeter."

Titus looks confused at the young tom, before looking down and seeing his precious Bombalurina squeezing the small golden kit tightly with a warm smile on her face. Titus lets out a sigh and places his paw to his head. Skimble gently sets a paw on Titus' shoulder, with a large grin on his face.

"Oh, not you too." Titus says with a poorly hidden smile.

"Are you willing to let your precious little queen be angry with you for not taking the little one with you?" Skimble asks in a taunting demeanor," Everyone knows you spoil her more than Dimitri."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Titus says picking up Bomba and placing her on his back before picking up Demeter easily," Her name's Demeter, right?"

"That's right, uncle." Munku smiles.

"Well, Dimitri did want another kitten." Titus sighs before smiling," Who am I kidding, Dimitri will be elated to see we have a new daughter."

After saying goodnight, Titus leaves the den, leaving Munku, Tugger, Skimble and Jenny. Munku sighs and pets Tugger's head, making the small kitten purr loudly and snuggle next to him. Munku smiles before looking to his aunt and uncle.

"Do you want me to take the little one home, lad?" Skimble asks as he slowly approaches.

"No…I don't…I don't want Tugger to be alone in a room with Macavity." Munku says, voice full of worry," Macavity still hasn't forgiven Tugger for taking mom away."

"That poor boy…" Jenny sighs.

"It'll be fine soon." Munku says," Next month is the jellicle ball, and Macavity will be announced as a full fledge tom. He'll get his own den in the yard, and I won't have to worry for Tugger anymore."

"You've thought this out." Jenny says supprissed.

"I can't lose another family member." Munku says as his face darkens," Not yet."

"I understand." Skimble says with a smile as he picks up Tugger," I'll go put him into a proper bed so his back doesn't hurt more when he wakes up."

"Thank you, uncle Skimble." Munku smiles, snapping out of his trance.

Skimble quietly walks into the bedroom of the den, leaving Jenny and Munku alone in the room. Jenny walks over to Munku and gently wraps him in a hug and purrs. Munku sniffs, but doesn't allow his tears to fall.

"I know." Jenny says quietly," No one took Andromeda's death as hard as you did."

"If…if I hadn't kept asking for a brother…" Munku says in a shaky voice," She might still be here…Macavity wouldn't be acting so strange…dad wouldn't be alone all the time."

As hard as he tries, tears fall down his cheeks as he clutches the paw of his aunt. She squeezes his tighter and purrs. Munku doesn't even hear Skimble enter the room, until he gets a mouth full of orange fur in his face.

"Skimble…" Munku starts.

"Just cry, lad, you don't need to explain." Skimble purrs.

After a few minutes in the awkward hug, Munku slowly moves away, and looks happily up to Jenny and Skimble. He laughs a small laugh.

"Can I sleep yet?" he asks rubbing his eyes, heavy from exhaustion.

"Yes dear, I believe you're in the clear." Jenny sighs.

"Then, I'll get Tugger and go back home." Munku says as he slowly gets up on weary and achy muscles.

It hurts to move, and Jenny knows it, but she knows she can't stop her nephew when he's made up her mind. She looks lovingly to her mate, and he nods, quickly getting up and going to the bed room. Skimble comes out with a resting Tugger in his arms. Munku opens his arms to get Tugger, but is instead picked up by Skimble.

Munku protests, but Skimble doesn't listen. He walks into the night, making the adults chuckle at the sight of the tom gently holding the two kits. He makes his way up to Deuteronomy's den, where the large tom sits, greeting the orange tom with a smile and taking is sons in his own arms.

"Goodnight Deuteronomy." Skimble says with a smile.

"Goodnight, my friend." Deuteronomy replies.

Once the orange tom is safely down the junk pile, Deuteronomy quietly walks into his den, setting Munku down in the main area and going to tuck Tugger into his own bed. Macavity is fast asleep when Deuteronomy enters.

When Deuteronomy enters the main room, Munku stiffens slightly at the anger in his father's eyes. Without a word, Deuteronomy turns Munku to look at the back of his head, and sees the stitches, still slightly wet from blood. Deuteronomy quickly pulls his son in a hug.

"I'm so proud of you." Deuteronomy says quietly," But please don't scare me like that."

"I'm afraid I can't promise that dad." Munku says quietly turning to face Deuteronomy.

"What do you mean, son?"

"If I find myself in that situation again, I wouldn't change a single thing I did, except for the fact I would give Tugger the kitten so I can let them get farther ahead." Munku smiles," If they're safe, then I'm willing to take the risk against a Peke, or a crow, or even another cat."

"Oh, my boy…" Deuteronomy says with proud and sad smile," Your mother would be proud."

"Aunty Jenny says I'm free to sleep now. Is it okay if I go to bed?" Munku asks," It's been a pretty rough day on many."

"I think you deserve a good rest." Deuteronomy laughs," Go on to bed, my little protector."

Munku smiles brightly at that word. He reaches up and gently nuzzles his dad's cheek before slowly making his way to his bed.

Almost as soon as his head touches the pillow, Munkustrap loses consciousness and dreams pleasant dreams of becoming a protector someday.


	9. The Aftermath

As soon as Demeter woke up the unfamiliar den, Bombalurina was all over her, hugging her and licking her affectionately. It almost was enough to make Demeter go on the attack, until a beautiful red queen pulled the over affectionate kit off her. The stunner smiles gently to the kit, before almost immediately mimic her kitten's actions.

'Like mother, like daughter.' Demeter thinks to herself, as she accepts the fate given to her.

"Now, now, Dimitri." A gruff voice says with a snicker," You're just as bad as Bombalurina."

"But she's just so cute!" Dimitri squeals before she goes back to hugging and grooming the kitten," Oh, how I wanted another daughter."

"U…um, what's…what's going on?" Demeter manages to say with a heavy breath.

"Well, obviously you're my lovely little sister!" Bomba says, falling onto Demeter," We've adopted you!"

"Adopted?"

"You've become a part of our family dear." Dimitri sighs," You're our daughter now."

"Oh…it's that simple?" Demeter asks.

"Of course." Titus says walking into the picture and picking up Demeter," You need a family, and we want to be that family."

The tom gently pets Demeter as she relaxes in his arms. After a few second, tom begins to groom her, and suddenly she realizes that everyone in this family is overly loving. Well, she decides to accept it, she thinks to herself, this is what a family feels like.

Well, after the family displays all their affection to Demeter, Bomba takes her outside and into the center of the yard, where the other kittens are already playing, except Munkustrap. Bomba clears her throat to get all their attention, which is easy for the little queen.

"Everyone, everyone, this is my little sister." Bomba says with a large grin," Her name is Demeter. Treat her kindly."

More than a suggestion, the way that Bomba says it almost seems like a demand. The kittens just cautiously look between the two kittens in front of them. Alonzo is the first to come up to Demeter, and take her paw in his, kissing it as he looks up to her eyes.

"Hello, my lady." He seems to purr," I am the great Alonzo, son of our protector Bismuth. In line to be the next protector as well, making me quiet," he flexes his muscles and gives a sultry smile to Demeter," the catch."

"Oh, shove off." Tugger says as he pushes the fledging tom out of the way, before extending his own paw to the kitten," I'm Rum Tum Tugger. I believe we met in Jennyanydot's, but I didn't catch your name. What a pretty name it is."

"We're Coricopat and Tantomile." The twins says in unison as they move Tugger out of the way.

"Glad to see you so healthy after yesterday." Tantomile says with a smile," It's always nice to have more queens in the yard."

"Enjoy it while you can." Cori says to his sister," A surge of toms is coming."

"Oh hush, that's your vision, not mine." Tanto smiles.

"They're psychic." Bomba says with a smile," Like their father. They also dabble in magic, much like Macavity over here."

Demeter follows Bomba's paw to the larger tom in the group. When her eyes meet, Macavity openly glares at her and snuffs her.

"Macavity, that's no way to treat the newest member of the family." Bomba says defensively.

"She's in no family of mine." Macavity hisses before walking away from the group, disappearing into Deuteronomy's den.

Demeter looks puzzled up to Bomba, who looks down and scared as she watches the ginger tom ascend the pile. Along with the other kittens who all look down once he's in the den and out of sight. She's very concerned until Tugger ruffles her hair and smiles.

"Don't worry about my brother." Tugger says with a smile," He's probably still a little mad Munk got hurt protecting us from the Peke. He treasures Munk more than anything else."

"He reminds him of Andromeda." The twins speak in unison," Since she's gone, he projects his love on the kit that looks similar to her."

"I'm Cassandra, by the way." A brown kitten says, butting in between Cori and Tanto," In case she wanted to know, I'm the little sister of these two."

"And what a precious sister you are." Tanto says nuzzling the brown kitten.

"Wait, Tugger said brother…" Demeter asks confused," w…what?"

"Yeah, Tugger, Mac and Munk are all brothers, sons of our leader Deuteronomy." Alonzo says with a smile," Munk and Tugger have the same mom, but Macavity's mom died in battle about a year ago."

"Wait, that silver tom, Munkustrap, is brothers with Rum Tum Tugger." Demeter says trying to wrap her head around the situation," But they look nothing alike."

"Andromeda, their mother, was a black and white queen, whereas Deuteronomy is a brown and grey tom, it makes sense that Munku is silver and Tugger is Blonde, doesn't it?" Alonzo asks with a confident smile only to get judging stares from the other kittens.

"What aren't you getting?" Bomba asks.

"Well, my mom told me that in my tribe we all looked similar, so I was just wondering how two cats who look so different could be related." Demeter says quietly," that's all."

The kittens all look at each other for a second before laughing out loudly and rolling on the ground. Demeter looks in shock at the sight. Bomba gets up and puts a paw on her shoulder before looking Demeter in the eyes.

"There's nothing but diversity in the jellicle tribe, dear." Bomba says with a laugh," That's what makes us the best family in London. Even us kittens are raised with that mindset."

"Yeah, I mean, my mom's white and blond while my dad has a full grey coat with no spots, yet here I am, black and white like a cloudy night." Alonzo laughs," And my parents couldn't love me anymore."

"How about we drop the subject." Cori says with a sigh getting up from the ground and rubbing his eyes," Just accept the facts as facts and you'll see how great this place is."

"Yeah, welcome to the family, Demeter." Tanto says joining her brother.

"Can we play now?" Cassandra sighs," I wanna play make believe."

"Are you kidding, tag is where it's at!" Alonzo laughs, pouncing on the kitten who lets out a small screech.

"Watch it." Cori and Tanto say, eyes slightly glowing.

"Right, overprotective." Alonzo smiles raising his paws in surrender before pouncing on the twins.

Before Demeter could even process, she's pinned to the ground by Bomba, who then proceeds to pounce over to Cassandra. Suddenly everyone is jumping around, laughing and dancing with each other. Demeter can't help but be pulled into the excitement. She doesn't even notice how she's being watched and observed by the older cats who smile at the small kitten getting used to her new life in the tribe.

Macavity watches with hatred in his eyes to the open field where the kittens play, growling silently as his eyes glow a deadly blue. He feels the static building his chest, ready to fire at the disgustingly bright golden monstrosity on the ground. He grits his teeth and tenses, but is suddenly stopped by a large paw on his back.

"Macavity, how are you today?" Deuteronomy asks with a smile to his oldest son.

"O…oh, I'm fine dad." Macavity says in surprise," just watching the kittens playing."

"Well, why don't you join them?"

"I'm waiting for Munku to wake up. I want to help him down, because he might still be hurt."

"What a good brother you are." Deuteronomy laughs ruffling Macavity's mane, and nuzzling his forehead.

"Thanks." Macavity smiles.

"Oh, are you excited for the jellicle ball next month?" Deuteronomy asks, sitting next to Macavity," You're finally going to be an adult. You'll find a mate and make our family even larger."

"Yeah, I can finally prove my worth." Macavity smile as he focuses back on the kittens," I'll show you how you can really be proud of me."

"You don't need to son." Deuteronomy hugs Macavity tightly," You've already made me proud so many times in this past year."

"You are one to be proud of." Munku says tiredly emerging from the den," You're the best brother, a great magician and a strong fighter."

Macavity and Deuteronomy smile at the silver tom. Munku smiles and rubs the back of his head slightly, wincing as he makes contact with his stiches. Without an exchange of words, Macavity hands out his paw for Munku to take, which he does happily. They both say goodbye to Deuteronomy, before Macavity slowly helps Munku out of the den and into the light.

Once at the bottom of the pile, Macavity slowly helps his brother to the kittens. Munku has to ask to rest every few steps to stop his head from spinning. Soon, when they reach the center, the other kittens quickly flock over to him, but keep a little distance.

"How are you feeling, Munk?" Alonzo asks, gently grasping Munku's paw in his own.

"Dizzy, achy and tired, but that's a Thursday for you." Munku laughs," but really, I'm fine."

"Are you really sure?" Tugger asks, worry present in his voice.

"Obviously." Munku smiles," If I wasn't I'd still be in Jenny's den."

"But you were covered in blood." Demeter says her eyes wide from shock.

"Who said you could talk to him?" Macavity hisses at the golden kit, who proceeds to shrink back behind Bomba, who glares at the ginger cat.

"It's alright, Mac." Munku says somewhat coldly," That was only from the eye of the Peke that I ripped out. Other than my head, I didn't receive any injuries that would cause me to lose blood. I have to say that's pretty impressive for my first time fighting a Peke."

"It's way more than impressive." Alonzo says with a laugh," It's incredible. I would've been dead as soon as the Peke came close."

The kitten s continued to talk about yesterday's events as if it was a far off memory. The older cats watching look with saddened smiles at the lot, unsure of weather to mention the body of the queen found late into the night by Bismuth and Cho. They make a small and silent pack between them, no one will mention it, nor the funeral being held for the queen.


	10. Snap

Two weeks after the attack, the yard is abuzz with excitement for the Jellicle ball. The older kittens practice their dances, while the youngest kittens and adults help to prepare the festival clearing, next to the main yard. Demeter gracefully carries lights up to one of the highest peaks of a junk pile, gently securing the pretty blue and red bulbs.

She looks down at the other kittens 'helping' her. There's Bomba and Tugger, play fighting, or flirting, in the clearing, while Cassandra sits on the ceremonial tire, sunbathing. Only a few adults are present to help as well. Jenny, with a slightly swollen belly, walks around the clearing of the yard to set up the props for the skit dances, while Jelly, with a swollen belly to match her best friend, dusts off the back of the old car and tire.

Exotica and Stratskin laugh as they jump from pile to pile arranging the needed props, actually making the job go much faster. Demeter laughs at the queens, acting like kittens. She concentrates back on her own job, placing the strings of lights as she's been told.

"Demeter." A voice says, shocking the kitten into dropping lights in front of her. She turns quickly to see a black queen, halfway up the pile looking up to her with large grey eyes.

"Oh, hello Aunt Bella." Demeter smiles as she picks up the lights," How are you today?"

"Oh, just fine, little one." Grizabella replies with a smile," would you mind coming down? I'd like to talk with you."

"Yes, of course, just one second." Demeter beams brightly as she places the lights on her neck and begins climbing down.

Once she reaches near Grizabella, Grizabella reaches up and holds the kit and ascends the rest of the way down. Demeter smiles at the warmth of her aunt. Once they reach the bottom of the pile, Grizabella sets Demeter down and gently brushes the hair out her eyes.

"What are we talking about?" Demeter asks brightly.

"Oh, follow me to a more shaded spot and we'll talk." Bella says with a smile, guiding the kitten into a large shadow of a junk pile and lying down next to a let of a broken chair.

Demeter quietly sits down next to Bella and smiles in anticipation of what her kind aunt has to say to her. Bella was one of the older cats to get close to her since she's been in the yard and been a jellicle. Demeter feels like she has a special connection to the queen, and loves to talk with her when she has time.

"How are you feeling?" Bella asks, breaking their silence.

"I'm good, hot, but good." Demeter says with a smile.

"Well, isn't that good." Bella says with a laugh," And how are you feeling about the yard?"

"Well, it's still a bit new, but I've almost spent half my life here." Demeter laughs," I'm still awkward with a few of the cats, like that large Tom who sits by himself and watches the yard, or the older cats who relax on the red truck. As well as Macavity, but I know he hates me, so that's not going to change."

"Well, Deuteronomy would love it if you went and talked to him." Bella sighs," He just likes to stay at his post and make sure his family is alright. As for the old cats, I would go ask them for a story from their old days. Gus, especially, loves to tell tales from his prime days. Just mention Firefrorefiddle, and he'll do on for days."

"Hah, I guess I can try." Demeter smiles," But what about Macavity?"

"Well, that's a hard one, dear kitten." Bella sighs," I'm afraid that that kitten isn't one to forgive. He blames you that Munkustrap will not participate in this ball, but no one else does. Plus that kitten is already so full of hate and lacking in love that it may be a lost cause. I mean, look at Tugger. The poor kitten was born, and Macavity hates him."

"Was Tugger the reason…" Demeter trails off and bites her tongue trying to not think about.

"Yes, he took away one of only sources of love in Macavity's life." Bella sighs," But let's stop talking about such a dark matter. I want to talk about you. I want to talk about your life before you became a jellicle."

"Oh, well…" Demeter is caught slightly off guard by the question," My name, Demeter, was given to me by my mother. She says it was the name of the leader of the Polteasers, who valiantly fought to keep us alive. She was my aunt; my father was our protector."

"Wait, Polteasers?" Bella asks shocked.

"Yes, a tribe of golden cats. We made our home in an abandoned hotel, at least that's what I'm told." Demeter frowns," I didn't have a home. Mother made us stay moving, never settling down for more than one day. She was dead set on us getting here. It took us three weeks, maybe more for her, but then I had to listen to her die as she sacrifices herself to the Peke. Then I was found by Munkustrap and he sacrificed himself to keep me safe."

Demeter stops her story to look at the now silent Bella who has an expression of dread and fear, looking into the distance. Demeter comes closer to her stunned aunt, but when she does, Bella's claw comes within a centimeter of hitting Demeter's nose. Demeter lets out a small yelp an looks to her aunt who now has anger and hatred in her eyes, almost making her look like a completely different cat.

"B…Bella?" Demeter asks, tears forming in her eyes as she clutches her nose.

Grizabella looks to Demeter and shakes her head, shaking consciousness back into herself. Demeter, on the verge of tears stares at her in fear. Bella quickly gasps and stands, looking at the kitten. Her face softens and smiles at the kitten.

"I'm sorry, little Deme." Bella sighs," I am not trying to scare you. Something came up, unpleasant memories in my head."

"A…ah…" Demeter sighs, letting out a shaky breath, getting up herself.

"I'm going to visit my humans until the night of the jellicle ball." Bella says, swiftly turning and leaving the kitten in the shade.

Demeter's heart pounds from fear as she watches her aunt calmly and quietly walk away. Those eye were just to terrifying to calm her heart with a simple smile and apology. After Demeter gets the air back in her lungs, she quickly rushes over to Bombalurina, and tackles her to the ground.

"Well, hello, Deme." Bomba purrs as she hugs her sister, only to realize she's shivering like it's negative forty outside," What's wrong?"

Demeter squeezes Bomba tighter as tears flow out her eyes. Bomba returns the tight hug, purring softly to the sobbing kitten. Tugger and Cassandra are quick to come over to the two, and give Bomba confused looks. Bomba looks and shakes her head in confusion as well.

"Hey, Deme, what's wrong?" Tugger asks, gently placing a paw on her shoulder which causes a hard flinch, followed by a loud hiss by Bomba.

A small patter of footsteps approach, and soon Jenny and Jelly are next to the kittens. They look confused at the kittens, who just shake their heads. Jenny tries to approach the two, then Jelly, only to be rejected by Bomba and Deme.

Soon Munku, on his afternoon rehabilitation walk, reaches the celebration yard and sees the commotion. He gently makes his way down to the group and sees Deme shivering in Bomba's arms. Everyone chatter softly as Bomba glares at anyone trying to get close. Munku quickly looks around and sighs, approaching slowly and silently.

"Demeter." Munkustrap says quietly," What happened?"

Demeter's ears perk at the sound of Munku's voice and she slowly turns her head to look at him. He gives her a sweet smile, and reaches out his paw to her. She turns and gently places her paw in his, her eyes still soaked in tears. She breaths shakily as she looks up to the silver tom.

"B…Bella." Demeter stutters," Bella's acting strange…she almost hit me…"

"She what?" Jelly hisses, angry at her younger sister, and Demeter flinches from the loud outburst.

"S…she swiped at me…when…when I told her my past…" Demeter sobs, trying, in vein, to wipe her tears from her face.

Bomba slowly wraps Deme in a hug from behind, looking sadly to Munku. Demeter still tries hard to rub her eyes, and it starts actually hurting her. Munku raises her paws, so he can look her in the eyes, and tries to smile at the kitten, but can't help but feel heartbroken at the fear and sadness in her eyes.

He quickly wraps her up in a hug himself. She accepts as sniffles quietly. Soon all the other kittens join in, followed by Jenny and Jelly. After a couple minutes Demeter begins laughing, which is infectious through the other kittens.

Soon the hug stops and everyone is laughing. Munku gently pats Deme's head and smiles at her. Deme gives back a sweet smile of her own, so sweet Munku can't help but feel his cheeks flush slightly at her.

"Let's play." Bomba says as she tackles her sister to the ground. Demeter nods quickly an the two get up and sprint away, quickly followed by Cassandra and the two queens, worryingly following the small kittens.

"You liiiiiiiike her." Tugger teases before running after the group.

Munku opens his mouth to respond, but can't find words. He shakes his head, a bad idea as it quickly leads to a headache. He looks in the direction of the kits and smiles, before walking back to the den.


	11. Grizabella's truth

Down the darkest alleys, in the most secluded section of London, Grizabella quickly ducks through a small crack in the wall of an abandoned building and slips inside. As she enters she finds a large grey coat, which she quickly puts on, on top of her black fur.

Her face grows cold as she walks into a large room, full of terrifying strays, missing tails, limbs and even two missing their eyes. Bella calmly and collectedly walks into the center of a room where a large grey and black tabby cat laughs loudly while swiping his claws at a small bundle hanging from the ceiling.

Grizabella slams her paw down next to the cat, startling him into noticing her.

"Ah, Grit, what's up?" He says in a gruff voice," Haven't seen ya around lately."

"Can it, Hitch." Grizabella growls," I'm here to talk about your raid on the Polteasers last month."

"What about it?" The gruff tom, Hitchpaw, says, returning his attention to the squirming bag, hitting it hard with his paw.

"I thought you said you were going to drive them out of their territory, not slaughter the entire bloody tribe." Bella hisses," The Polteasers didn't do anything wrong."

"They didn't pay their fine for that territory we gave them." Hitch sighs," At first we wanted to make an example out of that damned Demeter, but they started fighting to protect her, so we had to kill them. But not all's lost."

He reaches up and rips the bag from the ceiling, and a small shriek comes from the bag. He opens it, and throws out the contents, two malnourished golden kittens land on the ground, one obviously dead and covered with bruises, and the other struggling to breath. It opens it's hazel eyes towards Grizabella, who can't help but picture her Demeter in the same situation.

"The kittens are a good way to relieve stress." Hitch laughs," Plus we got some good money for a few of them. God knows what they're being used for. I just hope that they don't return them."

"How many?" Grizabella growls," How many died?"

"The tribe was about twenty strong, not including kittens, so I'm guessing…" Hitch lifts his paw pads as if counting," twenty."

"Jesus." Bella sighs, looking down once more.

"Aw, what's wrong, Grit?" Hitch sighs," Did you find yourself a friend in that tribe? Well, I'm sorry, but I'll get you a new one. We have plenty of tribes for you to make friends with."

"This isn't about friends." Bella hisses," This is about morals. Even I wouldn't senselessly murder an entire tribe because they were short a few pence. Hell, that's just bad business sence. Ever heard of interest?"

"Hah!" Hitch laughs loudly," That's our Grittlebone for you. Always knows where the money is, and doesn't care how to get it."

"Yeah, whatever." Bella sighs, sitting down next to the tom," Now we have to clean up that musty area and find another tribe to pay the fine. I want them to be pretty like the last tribe, not gross and mixed like the jellicles."

"Oh yeah, how's that whole family situation going?" Hitch asks, nuzzling Bella gently," Those dumbass sister's still on your case?"

"Dimitri still doesn't forgive me for taking some of her money to invest in this organization, and Jellyorum is constantly mad at me for being ungrateful to our family." Bella sighs, accepting the nuzzle," But none of them know I do this."

"I would expect nothing less, Grit." Hitch smiles," Deceiving your own family and putting this organization first."

"Of course I would. It's a business that I and my precious Growltiger started." Bella says tiredly," I still can't believe that stupid queen Mastrivia killed him a year ago. I mean sure, I killed her just as quickly, but that doesn't bring him back."

"It's ok, Grit." Hitch says with a smile," You've still got me. The Hidden Paw will always be your home, aren't I right?"

Bella looks calmly to the grey tom and can't help but smile at his semi-cute smile. She looks back down to the kittens once more, the one that was alive now lies still on top of the other dead kitten, tears still flowing down it's face. Bella once again thinks of Demeter, her precious Demeter who listens adamantly to her stories.

In her whole six years of life, Bella has never felt this conflicted about what she should do. She's grown attached to the kitten, that's true, but she knows that all the Polteasers are meant to be dead by Hitchpaw's command. If Demeter remains alive, then Bella can't help but feel she's betraying the organization she's spent four years building up. She sighs and looks Hitch right in the eyes.

"Hey, Hitch." She says coldly," Recently a kitten has come into the jellicle family, and it has similar markings to a Polteaser. She's been adopted by my sister and her kitten, but what action do you think I should take?"

Hitch looks straight into Bella's eyes, hints of anger and confusion prominent in his eyes. He gets up and shakes out the tension of his muscles.

"I want that kitten, Polteaser or not." Hitch says coldly," It's a matter of pride. I can't let one of those filthy creatures roam around London. No one would take this organization seriously. I'll send one of my best men tomorrow to retrieve her. You must go back and bring her to a secluded area, where we'll take her. I'll decide her punishment once I see her and determine if she's really a Polteaser."

"And if she is?" Bella asks softly.

"Then I'll kill her with my own two paws, and I'll put a bounty on each of the jellicles heads."

"And me?"

"Oh, not you Grit, you're just pretending to be their family. This gives you an option to stay with us permanently and be with your true family."

"What if she doesn't come with me?"

"Make her." Hitch says in a gruff and cold voice.

Without another word, Grizabella clicks her tongue before jumping to the floor and walking back to her personal entrance and exit. Cats great her with respect and wish her a safe trip. She looks around, at all her underlings, and feels her heart being pulled apart as she meets all their eyes.

Once she's in her room, she places her grey coat on the small hook she's designated it to. She places a paw on the coat, her first present form Growltiger, the love of her life. She feels tears in her eyes.

It's not untrue to think there are some jellicles that she could live without, mostly Dimitri, Jelly and Jenny, but she can't imagine a world where the kittens, so precious and small, had to live through the fate of being hunted their whole life. She thinks of Bombalurina, her favorite biological niece, and Demeter, her favorite adopted niece, then Munkustrap the dashing young tom willing to put his life at stake for his own family. Would she really do the same?

Both are her family, whether she's Grizabella the Glamour Cat of the Jellicles, or Grittlebone, the relentless leader of the Hidden Paw. She can't just choose one or the other. She especially can't so close to the jellicle ball, a time of happiness.

She slowly walks out of the room through the crack, a plan formulating in her head. She won't lose either family, not now and never again.


	12. Betrayal

The sun rises on the day of the jellicle ball. Demeter is the second cat up in the den, a sensation she's used to. She get's up with the sun, and goes into the main den area, and watched Titus begin to make breakfast from the stored food in a small off room of the den. It's a peaceful morning, she looks outside at the dew on that shimmers in the light. She can't help but smile.

"How are you feeling, Deme?" Titus asks, walking over and ruffling her hair with a smile.

"I'm fine, dad." She smiles back," It's very pretty today."

"The prettiest day of the year is the day of the jellicle ball." Titus sighs," It's always been a beautiful day for as long as I can remember."

"I guess I'll see if that's true next year as well." Demeter smiles.

Titus looks down to his daughter and smiles warmly at her. He's glad that she's become so used to this life with the family. She smiles more now a day. Her first week she was glued to Bomba and wouldn't let anyone near her. I guess he has Grizabella for that, she was the first adult to truly accept the kitten and take her under her wing.

"Are you excited to play with your friends during the ball tonight?" Titus asks walking back to the food he's preparing.

"I wish I could watch the ball instead." Deme sighs," I spent a long time on those lights, and I want to watch them shine in the night."

Titus laughs a small laugh before placing a small hunk of mouse meet in front of the golden kitten. Her eyes go wide as she gobbles the treat down. She doesn't leave a scrap in front of her, and smiles thankfully to Titus.

A loud yawn is heard, and Dimitri sulks out of the main bedding area and plops down next to Deme. Her eyes are droopy and her mouth is slightly limp from exhaust. She looks to Deme and smiles slightly before head-butting her back and passing out.

Dimitri isn't a morning cat, and neither is Bomba who soon follows her mother suit and walks in only to pass out on Deme's back. Demeter is used to this, as is Titus who walks over to them with their own hunks of meat. The two tiredly just put their faces on the meat and munch slowly. Once they're done, they lick their chops, finally waking up.

"Bomb, I'm gonna go and wait in the green for everyone to come out." Deme says quietly nuzzling her loving sister," Meet me out there when you're ready."

"Y…yeah, sure." Bomba sighs.

Demeter quickly walks over to Titus and gives him a goodbye nuzzle, then to Dimitri, who smiles while yawning. Demeter then hustles out into the still morning light, going to the center of the yard, waiting for the yard to fill up with life. This is her favorite part of the day.

Slowly, the adults emerge from their dens, followed by their kittens who wobble out and yawn loudly, exposing their small fangs. Their faces light up when they see Demeter, an that gives her a happiness that cannot be described. She feels like this is where she belongs, and no one can take it away from her.

"Demeter." Grizabella's voice startles the kitten.

Demeter quickly turns to see Bella, looking down at her with a grave expression that quickly melts into a sad smile. Without a word, Bella motions her head to follow her and begins to walk away. Demeter feels a large knot in her stomach, but obediently follows her aunt, behind a large pile of junk.

Demeter turns the corner and opens her mouth to ask Bella a question, but a paw is suddenly put over her mouth and she feels a large pressure on her head. Bella grips Demeter's head and stares frightfully at the kitten, whose eyes are full and wet with tears. She feels the kitten struggling, but Bella just adds more force to make her stop.

"Listen, Demeter, I need you to cooperate with me." Bella says in a chillingly cold tone," I have a plan, a plan to keep you safe and this yard safe, but in order for it to work, I need you to not speak a word for the rest of the day. Do you understand?"

Demeter nods quickly and hard, shivering intensly. Bella sighs and brings Demeter into a large hug. Demeter doesn't know what to do, but begins to hug her back. After a few seconds, Bells pushes her away and makes another head motion to follow.

Demeter wipes her tears, heart racing out of her chest, but once again obediently follows her loved aunt. Surely this isn't anything to bad, right? Bella isn't the type of cat to willingly put Demeter in danger. Demeter's thoughts start to calm her as she treks behind Bella.

They soon reach the entrance of the junkyard, where a large Brown and dusty tom with one eye stands with a sickening grin looking at Demeter. Any ounce of calm Demeter had, is now gone with the wind. The tom reaches down and violently picks up Demeter by the scruff of her neck, causing pain to surge through her skin.

"Oswalt!" Bella hisses.

The tom looks fearfully to the black queen, before setting Demeter down, glaring at the kitten. Oswalt gives an apologetic nod to Bella before walking with Bella right next to him. Demeter struggles to breath, but follows closely behind Bells.

What's going on? Demeter thinks frantically to herself. Her chest is tight and each step gets harder and harder. Her heart is pounding so hard; she's scared the adults in front of her can hear it. As they enter a dark alley, Demeter forgets how to breath, taking in quick burst of air. She looks frightened at Bella, who looks at Demeter with a cold stare. Demeter's vision becomes hazy with fright.

They jump up and enter an old and broken down building through a broken window. Bella helps Demeter up and down, and keeps her close as they walk into a large room. Many large cats start swarm around the three, laughing, glaring and smirking disgustingly as they look at Demeter the golden kitten. They stop in front of a pile of furniture in the center of the room, where a large figure sits on top.

"Hitch, I brought it." Bella says in a new cold tone Deme's never heard before.

The large figure turns quickly and startles Demeter. His glassy yellow eyes piercing through the darkness surrounding him. He jumps down and lands directly in front of the bunch. If Demeter thought Oswald was big then this tom was a giant compared to him. He towers over Bella, who calmly stares at him.

"If my eyes don't deceive me, then that's a Polteaser kitten." Hitch growls, moving his paw towards Demeter, who's pupils shrink in shock to the size of a glass bead.

Grizabella swats his paw away and growls at the large tom, who looks taken aback by the action. She clears her throat and sits elegantly with Demeter by her side.

"Yes, this kitten is from the Polteaser tribe, but none of the jellicles knew that, nor the fate that has befallen that tribe." She says calmly and coldly," Therefore, I do not want any bounties placed on the heads of the jellicle clan."

"What?" Hitch hisses," Who are you to be making demands?"

"The leader of this organization!" Bella screeches, making the room go deathly silent," I am Grittlebone! I made this organization and have kept it running while you act as a figurehead! Do I need to remind you of that?"

"N…no ma'am." Hitch says sinking to the ground in a respectful bow.

"Well, to show you my real power I'll show you my loyalty to this family." Bella hisses," I'm going to execute this kitten in front of the jellicle tribe, so they know not to get on my bad side."

Demeter now can't stop her trembling, and loses control of her bladder. Bella yanks Demeter into the air and places her claws next to Demeter's throat. Demeter's brain seems to shut off, and she can no longer process anything, she can only think about how she doesn't want to die.

"Only one can go with me, but know that if you say one word about the location of the jellicles, I will not hesitate to slice your throat open." Bella hisses before throwing Demeter to the ground.

"Does this mean?" Hitch asks.

"This is officially my only family. I'm cutting ties with the jellicles!"

As the Hidden Paw celebrates the coming of their true leader, Bella drags Demeter into her private room. She slams the door shut, before glaring at Demeter who is shaking intenslty with a blank expression of pure fear. Bella quickly grabs the kitten in a hug and pets the back of her head.

"I am so sorry, Deme." Bella says quietly," I'm so sorry."

Before Demeter can respond, Bella shoves her away and picks up a golden container. She opens the container, containing black ash. She dips her paw into the container and begins smuging the black over the golden areas of fur on Demeter. Demeter snaps out of her trance and swats at Bella, hissing and crying. Bella sighs and glares at Demeter, shutting her up.

"This is the only way I can save you." Bella hisses quietly," Be cooperative!"

Demeter is silent, accepting the ash being spread onto her fur, coving the gold and making her a solid black at. Bella looks at Deme and gives a sad smile before closing the container and placing it down. She then looks to her coat and a pained expression. She rips the coat down, and behind it, hanging on the hook, is the corpse of a Polteaser kitten that she stole form the garbage the day before.

Demeter opens her mouth to scream, but no sound comes out, thank the Everlasting Cat. Grizabella puts the coat on, and puts the dead kitten on her back, wiping blood onto her paws from the back of the coat.

"Leave out the crack and wait for me to leave with Oswalt, then follow quietly." Bella says in a quiet demanding voice," When we get into the yard, I want you to hide, in an area where you can see the yard and myself. Once I leave, reveal yourself to the jellicles."

Demeter sits frozen, unable to process what her loving aunt turned psychopath is saying. A claw comes within inches of her right eye and she snaps back into reality. She can't hear anything, but watches Bella mouth the word 'go'.

Demeter quickly makes her way through the crack in the wall behind her and sits behind a large dumpster, listening to the inside of the building. There's a roar of cheering followed by silence. Soon a large and loud burst of singing ' _For She's a Jolly Good Fellow_ ' and Demeter watches as Bella and Oswalt jump out of the broken window. Demeter quietly sneaks behind them, ten feet away.

After about twenty minutes of walking, Demeter sees Bella turn into the junkyard. Demeter's heart is racing, but she runs into the yard and navigates the piles like a pro. She weaves in and out of junk, making sure Bella can't see her. She soon is on the outskirts of the main yard and jumps into a broken tv set, and watches as Bella enters the yard, expression cold as Oswalt follows behind her. The yard quiets.

"Hey, Grizabella." Cho says in the silence, fiercely concentrating on her expression.

Grizabella says nothing but glares at Cho, who nods and slowly makes his way over to Dimitri, while Cori an Tanto make their way to stand next to Bomba. They know what's happening, and though they don't want to, they prepare for the worst in these spots.

"Jellicles." Bella yells in a cold tone," I think it's about time you know my real identity. I am Grittlebone, the leader of the Hidden Paw and mate to Growltiger. I am the murderer of Mastrivia and Hera, as well as…"

Demeter throws down the corpse and a large gasp rings through the yard, accompanied by the violent cries of Bomba and Dimitri, who try to run to the kit's body, but are restrained by Cho, Cori and Tanto. Titus gives a deathly glare at Bella, as do all the other adults who slowly stand up. The kittens all have shock on their faces, tears in their eyes before they start screaming.

Bella lifts her right claw, and holds the corpses head in her left paw, then violently brings her claws down and decapitates the corpse. Dimitri faints, tears in her eyes, Cassandra vomits violently as Exotica holds her and glares daggers at Bella. Demeter's eyes go to Deuteronomy, who looks angry and heartbroken at the same time. He stands and glares at Bella with tears in his eyes.

"I am a killer, and I renounce this shitty tribe!" Bella yells," Never cross me or the Hidden Paw again, otherwise this might be your fate!"

"Leave!" Deuteronomy screams at the black queen, shocking most including Bella," Never come back! The moment you show your face again, I will not hesitate to kill you, you monster! Go!"

"Leave!" Titus screams next.

"I'll kill you!" Bomba screeches," I'll really kill you!"

Bella clicks her tongue, before calmly sauntering out of the yard followed by a smirking Oswalt. Once they're out of sight, the adults and kittens alike all rush over to the kitten corpse, sobbing and screaming.

Demeter quietly walks out of the tv and starts making her way down the pile. She looks to the group and sees Cori and Tanto staring intensly at her with tears flooding down their faces and something between a smile and frown on their faces. Once she's on the ground, they sprint over and tackle her, holding her and sobbing.

Demeter looks over to the crowd who all look at her now. Bomba hesistantly walks over, tears and a sobbing frown ruining her normally beautiful and calm composure. Bomba walks all the way to Demeter and lifts her paw to wipe the ash away from Demeter's face, revealing her pretty gold and white face with blue orbs for eyes.

Bomba sobs as she collapses on top of her sister. Sinking her claws into Demeter's back, as if to show how she'll never let her go again. Titus comes over and yanks the kitten away from the others and holds Demeter as tightly as he can, sobbing. Demeter hgs him back, unable to control her won tears.

Soon everyone else comes over and sobs over the little kitten. Relieved and heart broken, they walk her over to Dimitri who begins to wake up. As she blinks, she meets Demeter's blue eyes, and without a second thought Dimitri holds the kitten tightly and sobs her eyes out, screaming curses at the Everlasting Cat and cursing her older sisters name.

"I…I ca…came out…an…and you…weren't there…" Bomba sobs as she joins her mother and Demeter," I…I thought…you…you were…playing by…yourself."

"What did that fucking bitch of a mongrel do to you?" Dimitri scream/sobs.

"I…I…" Demeter starts, but is stopped by a sudden hug from the large brown tom from behind her.

"Oh, child…" Deuteronomy says in a heavy voice," Oh, Demeter…our dear child…please…please don't go again…"

The crowd stays with the traumatized kitten for another two hours, cleaning her of the ash on her coat. They then focus attention on the to real dead kitten in the middle of the clearing. They rush a burial as the kittens all take turns hugging and purring to Demeter, who can't stop crying and shaking.

Needless to say, the once beautiful day of the jellicle ball become dark and gloomy.


	13. Jellicle Ball

Deuteronomy put the ball on hold for a week to help the tension drop around the yard. Dimitri and Bomba wouldn't let Demeter a foot away from them, and Titus and Bismuth beefed up security, demanding all cats who were at their owner's houses come back immediately.

After a week, excitement was back in the air, not as prominent as before, but still there. Demeter had gotten over the experience, Munkustrap was healed enough to take place in one dance, and Deuteronomy has gotten over his rage over Bella's betrayal.

As soon as night begins to fall, Dimitri drops off Demeter and Bombalurina at Jenny's den, where Jenny and Jelly sit happily chatting while knitting. They turn and smile to Dimitri as she sets down the two kittens. She nuzzles both of them on the head before turning away.

"Be good for Aunty Jelly." Dimitri says over her shoulder.

"Yes, mama." Deme and Bomba say simultaneously.

Once Dimitri is fully out of the den, they run around until they find Tugger and Cassandra playing in the storage den. The four all full of energy decide to play. They run around for a while until they fall down panting in the main room where Jelly and Jenny laugh at their antics. The four look to each other and nod.

"Are you sure about this Cass?" Demeter asks as Cassandra gets to her feet and shakes her head.

"Of course, brother and sister aren't the only ones who got papa's power." She says with a cunning smile coming over her face.

She saunters over in front of Jelly and Jenny and sits, staring intently at the ground. The two queens stop their chatter for a moment and turn their attention to the brown kitten. Before they can speak, Cassandra turns her head up, locking eyes with both of them. Her blue eye seemingly glowing with power. The two queens seem enraptured, and Cassandra begins to mouth words, the last one being,' _sleep_ '. The two slump backwards, falling into a deep sleep and soon snoring up a storm.

"That's amazing!" Demeter says as she jumps on Cassandra's back.

"It is, isn't it." Cass says with a small smile on her face," Anyways, now's our chance to go and see what the jellicle ball is like."

"I'm not waiting up for you." Tugger laughs as he sprints out of the den.

He's quickly followed by the three queens. They all run over piles of junk to find a nice out of sight area to watch the ball. The three queens find a pipe where they all snuggle up next to each other, and watch the older cats dance under the light of the jellicle moon.

Demeter's eyes are immediately drawn to Dimitri, who dances in a seductive manor, mostly aimed towards Titus. The smile on her face is almost as bright as the moon, and she looks as though she's truly enjoying herself, free from worry and strife. The song soon ends, and Skimble begins singing happily about his life on the midnight train, and how he's in charge.

Cori and Tanto dance along perfectly synchronized, Alonzo prances elegantly, Macavity has a sultry charm to his dancing and Munku sits off to the side tapping his paws together with a smile. Soon Alonzo is sitting next to him, chatting up a storm, and Making Munku look much happier. There's a certain sparkle that Demeter can't ignore.

"Alonzo is so nice." Cassandra purrs," He's also a very graceful dancer. I mean, did you see the way he leapt around the green? Brother and Sister are good, but he's way better."

"Then I guess we know who our exotic friend here likes." Bomba says with a smile, resting her head on her outstretched paws.

"It's not like you're any subtler than me." Cass says defensively," The way you purr loudly when Tugger walks by, or how your entire demeanor changes when you make eye contact. Face it, you've had a thing for him since you were born."

"I…I do not." Bomba says in a flustered manor," He's just growing into a fine tom. I like the way his mane circles around his head. He's becoming as handsome as Macavity."

Demeter flinches at the name and Cass and Bomba look to her with a little worry. Demeter shakes her head and smiles to her friends. She knows he hates her; she doesn't need to stop everyone from talking about him.

"Sure, but when you talk to Macavity you keep the same tone and speech as you do when you talk to me." Deme says with a smile," When Tugger comes into the conversation, your tone becomes slightly lower and a bit sweeter. I think you can spell subtle in that way, just after you add the neon colors to the three story high letters."

The three laugh at the comment. Bomba rustles Deme's hair and Deme let's out a little meow. Cass bumps the sisters and the three laugh once again.

"Talk about subtle, everyone in the yard knows you like Munkustrap." Cass laughs and Deme blushes," Remember when Griz almost hit you when you put up lights? You hung onto Bomb like a mat cat until Munku came around, then you help onto him tighter."

Cass gets a sudden jap in the side from Bomba as the two look to Demeter. Her eyes are glazed over and an emotionless expression graces her face. Her breathing gets heavier, and through the cement, the other two queens can feel her heart racing.

"You know not to mention 'you know who' in front of her." Bomba whispers to Cass.

"It slipped my mind." Cass says angrily.

"How could it just 'slip your mind'?" Bomba whispers," Did you forget last week when we literally saw a kitten decapitated in place of Deme?"

"Could you guys, just not, please." Deme says, placing her forehead on her paws and rolling up," Please, I would rather forget about that."

"Oh, Deme, we're sorry." Bomba whispers as she rubs Deme's back.

"I'm really sorry Demeter." Cass says," I promise to not bring it up again."

"Promise?" Demeter asks peeking an eye from her ball.

"Cross my heart, hope to die, Everlasting have me if I lie." The two say together crossing their heart in sync.

Demeter gives a little snort before laughing at the eerily synchronized feat. Bomba and Cass laugh as well, pulling Demeter in a large hug. She snuggles up between them and then looks back down to the dance area, where she sees not only Alonzo, but Munkustrap, Coricopat and Tantomile climbing the pile quickly.

Demeter puts her paws on her friend's paws and shoves them deep into the dark of the pipe, before sliding down next to them and placing a pad of her paw to her mouth. Bomba and Cass nod and cover their mouths.

The figures of the four appear as silhouettes in the light of the moon at the mouth of the pipe. The three queens take a stifled breath and look frantically between each other. The figures move their heads around, as if searching in the tube, before they hear a loud sigh.

"Man, that's too bad." Alonzo's voice says with a large sigh," And here we thought our favorite kittens were in this pipe."

"We would've invited them for some ceremonial snacks…" Tanto sighs.

"And drinks." Cori says finishing the sentence of his sister," We have fine cream tonight."

The girls all look between each other again but nod to stay in the dark. They pin their ears back and look up at the mouth of the pipe. A loud laugh startles their already beating hearts.

"Would you look at that!" Munku laughs," It looks like Titus is teaching Tugger how to dance."

Before Cass or Demeter can stop her, Bomba excitedly runs up to the front of the pipe.

"Where?" She says with a cheerful grin.

A paw lands softly on her head, and a small laugh comes from Alonzo's mouth.

"Gotcha." He says with a smile.

"Now come on out, naughty kittens." Munkustrap says with a small laugh," Trust us, we're not mad."

Cass and Demeter slowly slink out of the back of the pipe and utter simultaneously," Promise?"

"We promise." Tanto and Cori say together, taking Cass by the paw.

Munkustrap helps Demeter out of the pipe and up next to him. The group looks out onto the ball, watching the adult cats jump around and laugh. Even old Bunkstrap is laughing and dancing as if he's only 8 years old. However, after hearing talk about it from his father, Munkustrap knows that this is the last time any of them will see Bunkstrap. He's not sure where he's going exactly, but he knows that Bunkstrap isn't coming back from where they're sending him.

"What method did you three use to get away from the grumpy Gumby cats?" Alonzo asks, breaking the groups silence.

"I implanted a thought in their head that they must fall asleep, and they did." Cass says with pride as she stretches in between Cori and Tanto.

"Only a month old and already planting thoughts." Cori says with a wide smile nuzzling his little sister," Oh, we must tell dad."

"He knows." Tanto chuckles, and the group looks down to see Cho looking up at the group with a smile and a paw pad on his lips, before turning back to the festivities.

"Not gonna lie, I love your dad, but he creeps the hell outta me sometimes." Alonzo laughs.

"Try living with him for a week." Cori laughs.

The music from the yard goes quiet and all attention is in the center of the field, where Macavity stands and proudly looks to the sky. Deuteronomy soon walks into the center with his son and smiles. Deuteronomy pulls out something that he was hiding under his front right leg, and makes a large deal about handing it over to Macavity. Macavity makes a large deal about accepting it, before raising it to the crowd, so they can see it.

It's a beautiful black collar with golden spikes coming out the sides, that buckles in the back. Deuteronomy then takes the collar and places it gently on his son's neck and tightens it to a perfectly snug spot, then releases in a showy manor. A loud roar of applause is heard from the adults as the group of kittens just wanders what just happened.

"My son, Macavity, has finally become a tom on this day." Deuteronomy announces," He will be assigned a den, and will find a mate, and continue the legacy of our perfect tribe, maybe becoming leader himself one day."

Macavity smiles brightly, and Demeter can't help but feel her heart move from the sight. It's the first time she hasn't seen him glaring or being mean or just being an outright prick. He actually does look rather handsome when he smiles. Demeter feels her face flush slightly when a small kick shocks her back into reality. She looks over to Bomba who smirks at and points to her face with a grin. Demeter wipes her face to try and remove the blush, but it only seems to grow.

"Uh-oh, looks like you might have some competition." Alonzo whispers to Munku, who just sighs and taps Alonzo in the face.

Before Munku can respond, a loud voice echoes through the yard.

"Jellicles, if I may have your attention." Bismuth says loudly, and all chatter stops as they listen to their protector," Due to the recent 'events' that have transpired in these past months, Deuteronomy, Titus and myself have made a decision. We will begin to train the next generation of protectors so that they may be prepared to take our place, should something happen."

"Face it, we're already eight and nine, we don't have many more years ahead of us. We need the speed of young toms, ready and willing to take our places." Titus says, standing next to Bismuth," We shall now announce who we will choose to take our places, and who will start their training. We chose only the best, those with kind spirits and hearts, willing to give it all for another."

"As protector I name my heir to be, Munkustrap, second son of Deuteronomy." Bismuth says with a large smile.

"As second-in-command I came my heir to be, Alonzo, first son of Bismuth." Titus says with a smile of his own on his face.

Realizing what attention that means, the four older kittens hove the three young queens in the pipe before sprinting down the pile of junk. The kittens rub their heads, but still peek out and watch as Munku and Alonzo proudly walk next to each other next to the older toms, with a roar of applause greeting them.

The party continued for a while, and Deme and Cass started to rub their eyes to keep the sleep away, while Bomba purely embrace it and falls onto Deme's shoulder. Deme stays and watches the calm part of the ball, where the mated couples dance, and those who want to mate dance in courtship. This year, there were no dances, as the toms were the only in the generation and are to find mates in a different tribe and bring them into the jellicles for the next ball.

Deme thinks dreamily about the next ball, and how she'll be old enough to get a mate and how the males will try their best to court her. Suddenly the music stops, and she snaps back to attention as Deuteronomy begins to raise his paws, and Bismuth stands proudly before the kneeling cats. Deme elbows Cass and Bomba awake, and the three focus on the events.

"And now, Deuteronomy, under the jellicle moon, through a silence you feel you could cut with a knife, announces the cat who will now be reborn, and come back to a new jellicle life." Bismuth announces with a smile.

Deuteronomy walks off his tire, and walks over to old Bunkstrap, and holds out his paw. Bunk nods and takes the paw offered to him. In silence, the two walk and stand above on the tire, which begins to glow. Slowly a song begins to start, and to the kitten's surprise Dimitri begins to sing a solo.

 _Memory, turn your face to the moonlight, let your memory lead you. Open up, enter in. If you find there, the meaning of what happiness is, then a new life will begin._

She sings loudly and beautifully, before a small pause, then the rest of the adults join in to the ceremonial song.

 _Up, up, up, up past the Russel Hotel, up, up, up, up past the heavy side layer._

The adults continue to sing as the tire rises into the air, white light and smoke underneath. Suddenly a large white paw appears descending form the sky, and touching the tire. Deme, Bomba and Cass all gasp at the spectacle.

 _The Mystical Divinity, of unashamed felinity!_

 _Round the cathedral, rang 'Vivat'!_

 _Life to the Everlasting Cat!_

The adults chime in unison as Bunkstrap ascends into the paw. The paw raises into the sky, and the yard is once again clothed in silence, until Deuteronomy begins singing. He sings in a low voice that really echoes his point. The kittens are entranced by the performance, until Tugger suddenly drops in front of the pipe, almost making them shriek if Bomba didn't cover Cass' and Demeter's mouths.

"We gotta go." Tugger whispers hurriedly, and he disappears as quickly as he appeared.

The queens look between themselves, then quickly shuffle out of the pipe and run back to Jenny's den, where the two adult queens are still snoozing and snoring. Cassandra's eyes glow once more, and the queens snap their eyes open and begin chatting as if nothing's happened.

Soon, Dimitri and Exotica come into the den. They both have sad smiles, and motion for their kittens to join them. In silence, they bid Tugger goodbye and enter into the dawn of the new day. No one dare mention the disappearance of Bunkstrap. Once the kittens get into their dens, they close their eyes and sleep away any wonder as to what happened to him.


	14. The Notorious Duo

Two months after the ball, and not many things have happened. Macavity moved into his own den and has started looking for a mate and a human family to own him, and such hasn't been in the yard very much. Jenny and Jelly gave birth to two toms, Jelly naming hers Pouncival and Jenny naming hers Plato. The kittens are already beast friends, and they warm the hearts of all the cats in the yard. Munkustrap and Alonzo have been put through training since the day after the ball, in order to become strong toms and protectors. They've grown quite large, but not as large as Titus or Bismuth yet.

Coricopat's and Tantomile's powers have also increased an exponential degree in these past two months, so much so they have begun to undergo Spartan like training. Today, three hours before the sun is even in the sky, Cori and Tanto send electrical pulses to each other and wake up. They silently sneak out of the den, and begin their trek to the other side of the junkyard.

It takes twenty minutes of walking, leaning on each other and countless yawns for the twins to reach their destination, a broken snare drum with the top ripped slightly, enough for the two to wiggle into the hollow inside. They sit across from each other and lock eyes, no words spoken, just fiercely concentrating on each other.

After five minutes of staring, their perception begins to expand, first to immediately outside the snare, then to the stretches of the piles five feet around them, until the entire junkyard echoes through their minds.

They take large breaths and concentrate to not lose the picture. Soon small yellow dots appear in their minds eyes, small pulsing dots, which are actually the heartbeats of the large family. First Deuteronomy's, then Cho's, then Exotica's until the whole of the main yard is alight with the small pulsing yellow lights.

The twins count and smile, no one has passed in their sleep. Soon, two large red and heavily pulsating dots appear in their minds eye. The two Peke's of the junkyard, sleeping soundly next to the main human entrance. The twins sigh at the fat they aren't awake and trying to fight the jellicle home because on more than once occasion it has occurred that they wander into the yard and try to attack the playing kittens, or sunbathing cats.

Suddenly, two rapidly beating yellow blips make their way into the twin's mind's eye, which shocks them. The blips look to be running around the edges of the junkyard, closer and closer to the red blips until…even the twins have no time to react as the two red hearts of the Peke's roar to life, along with a loud growl that shakes the metal beads under the twins.

They can't lose focus. The hearts of the two mystery cat's pound so hard in the twin's heads that it starts to give them a headache, but they can't lose their focus. The follow until the two cats suddenly stop, cornered by one of the red hearts. The twin's hearts race themselves and they nod quickly to each other, and close their eyes, emitting their brain waves to the main yard. Their minds connect with Munkustrap, Alonzo and their father.

' _There is an emergency._ ' Tanto says into the dreams of the sleeping cats.

' _Two mystery cats are being attacked by a Peke._ ' Cori seems to finish.

' _We will guide you to them, but you must move now._ ' Tanto says with urgency.

Within ten seconds, the heart blips of the three roar to life, and they begin sprinting into the yard. The three stop in the middle of the yard, and Tanto and Cori's eyes open suddenly, to show glowing Hazel eyes.

' _Where?_ ' Munku thinks.

' _To your right, near the edge of the yard._ ' Cori respond quickly, and the three take off.

Cori and Tanto give them split second directions which lead them quickly to the sigh of the mystery. When the three arrive, they see the cause for panic. A large brown Peke stands in front of a broken oven, barking loudly with teeth ready to rip what's inside apart. Small squeals are heard by both Alonzo and Munkustrap, who look to each other and nod, jumping off the junk pile they were on and engaging the Peke in battle.

' _He knows your there. ´_ Cori thinks quickly, prying into the beast's mind along with Tanto.

' _Quick, attack his right, he thinks you'll be to his left_ ' Tanto thinks quickly.

Alonzo quickly jumps to the Peke's right and kicks as hard as he can, knocking the Peke on it's side with a small yelp. Munku pounces onto it's back and begins to claw at the Peke's neck, while Alonzo claws the stomach.

' _He's going to jump up and snap, Al_ ' Tanto thinks quickly.

' _Jump over him and slice his ear, it's a weak spot'_ Cori thinks.

' _Munk, jump with Al and do double damage_ ' Tanto adds.

The toms do as the twins instruct, and sure enough, the Peke's ear takes severe damage. The Peke glares at the toms, but quickly turns tail and sprints away, yelping hopelessly, leaving a small trail of blood from its ear.

When the Peke runs ten feet away, the twins are pulled from his mind, and are thrown back, taking damage from the sudden rejection. Their strength is almost gone and depleted, as their eyes begin to dull down, they look to each other and smile, before falling forwards and smacking into the bottom of the drum, letting out a muffled rattle.

"G…great job, brother." Tantomile says with a smile and she crawls towards the middle of the drum.

"You too, sister." Cori pants as he mimics his sister's actions.

They meet in the middle and sit up to rest against each other's backs, when a sudden rumble underneath them causes them confusion. The small metal beads rattle slowly but increasing as a loud thud is heard outside the snare.

Suddenly both twins realize the same fact at the same time, both Peke's woke up. Al and Munk fought one, but where was the other? Why hadn't they thought about that a few second ago?

A low growl puts the two on edge, and they lock their paws together. Suddenly, a large paw smashes the top of the snare, ripping the leather completely in half and barely missing the two. A large black, one-eyed Peke stands, almost foaming at the mouth, staring down at the two.

They squeeze each other's paws and make their eyes glow. They let out a large screech, and a bolt of blinding white lightning strike the Peke in the nose, but the thunder was an even more terrifying noise. The loud bang sends the Peke yipping away in seconds, while the twins, who used the last of their energy in the flashy attack ( _a/n: hehe, see what I did there, flashy…_ ), fall to the ground and rattle the snare drum into the now still silence.

Once the Peke runs, Munk and Al look to each other with wide smiles. They high paw and give off a loud laugh, until they hear whispers coming from the oven. They quickly turn and begin to approach carefully, all while Cho carefully comes up behind them.

"Is anyone there?" Al asks loudly as they stop in front of the oven. A quick burst of whispering is heard.

"No one's 'ere!" A male's voice yells, startling the toms.

"Nice one, Jer." A female's voice says with happiness.

"Well, obviously someone has to be there for someone to say no one's there." Alonzo sighs.

"Crap." The male voice says quietly followed by more whispering.

"We're ghossstttttsssss, oooooohhhhhhh." The female says.

Al and Munku look to each other and nod, jumping up and grabbing the oven handle and forcing the door down. Inside are two orange tiger striped cats, a tom and queen both yelling 'ooohhhh' and waving their arms about. Both their eyes open to show brown eyes, and they blink together before putting their paws behind their backs.

"'Ello." The toms say with a shy smile.

"Hello." Munk and Al say together, crossing their arms.

"Lovely night." The queen says as the two shuffle back awkwardly.

The two make it to the back of the oven and crouch down only to spring back up, with some large sacks poking out from behind their thin frames. They smile widely as they shuffle forwards.

"Well, thanks for savin us." The tom says.

"You're real upstanding citizens." The queen says with a smile.

"Outstanding." The tom corrects,

"Yes, outstanding." The queen says as she attempts to shuffle past the two, but is stopped by Munkustrap's arm.

A loud burst of thunder suddenly rings out throughout the junkyard, startling all the cats in the area. Munk and Al look to Cho, who looks worriedly to the other side of the yard. He looks down to the two toms and nods, telling them they're in charge in their minds before he sprints off. The two turn to see the two orange cats creeping out the side of the oven.

"Hold on." Munk says with a sigh," You were just attacked by a Peke. The best course of action is to get you to our Gumby cat and make sure you don't have any injuries."

"We don't have any injuries!" The queen says quickly.

"We're right as rain!" The tom says outstretching his arms and showing the large white sack in his hand.

"Jer!" The queen says glaring at the tom.

The tom shoots the queen a confused look before looking at his hand and shoving it back behind his back and trying to play it off with a fake smile. Munk and Al just sigh as they both grab ahold of the cats. Munk restrains the queen on the ground, and Al make's sure the tom can't move.

"We should just carry them to Jenny." Al says with a laugh," They're lighter than the training weights we practice with."

"But they'll squirm." Munk says with a smile," We haven't even practiced with, ouf!"

Suddenly the foot of queen reaches Munku's face, with enough force to knock him off of her. When he loosens his pressure, she easily gets back onto her feet and flips backwards landing into a large bow. She snickers, as does the tom, who repeats the actions of the queen.

Munku and Al get their composure back, and try to catch the two again, but are easily avoided through the cats unnatural bending and twisting. After ten minutes, the two protectors-in-training stand in front of the oven, while the orange tom has his hands on his knees, panting, while the queen rests her arms on his back.

"Jer, these guys are really something." The queen says with a smile," they're really keeping pace."

"Well, Teaze, they did fight off that dog." The tom says," Of course they've got a bit of stamina."

The two toms want to respond when suddenly their faces are full of shock. From the shadows of the oven, two large grey paws emerge and take the two orange cats heads then bang them together, instantly knocking them out. Soon Bismuth walks out of the shadows with a large grin as he picks up the two cats and tosses them to the toms, who catch them carefully.

"Dad?" Al asks in shock," Since when?"

"You're very noisy when you wake up, Al." Bismuth laughs," I had to see where you had gotten to. I must say, I'm impressed that you two took such good care of that Peke. It's like you knew what his movements were going to be a second before he sprang into action."

"Cori an Tanto woke us and bore into the Peke's mind, and guided us to beat it." Munku says with a smile," They're really impressive, aren't they?"

"Hah, well I'm going to have to tell Cho that his kittens are certainly something praiseworthy." Bismuth laughs," I bet they'll be some of the best jellicles to come out of our tribe."

The three toms laugh, and begin to walk back to the main yard. Halfway there, they run into Cho who's carefully carrying the twins with a large smile on his face. The four walk back slowly, talking about how busy the day's going to be once it actually starts.

It takes about five minutes to walk all the way back to the yard and quietly make their way to Jenny's den. The slowly enter, and are surprised to see Jenny awake and about. She sees them and quietly motions them in. She sees the passed out kittens and looks horrified up to the toms.

"Cori and Tanto used all their energy, while the two orange cats were knocked out so you could look them over. They were in a Peke attack." Cho explains quickly.

Jenny nods and motions to the table. They set all the kittens down side by side. From left to right is the mystery tom, then the mystery queen, Coricopat and finally Tanto pleasantly hanging off the side of the table. Jenny soon enters her serious mode and does a quick check on the twins, sighing and nodding that they're fins only exhausted.

She takes her time on the orange kittens. Checking all over to make sure there aren't any broken bones, or hurt muscles. She sighs with relief when nothing feels out of place, but she also looks sadly to the two. Both have a large amount of bruises and very small cuts already covered with scars. She turns to the group of four toms and smiles.

"They're a bit malnourished, in need of a bath and rough around the edges, but they'll be fine if we give them a steady diet for a while." Jenny says with a smile.

"I'll go get my father." Munkustrap says with a smile," He'll get them a place to stay. I bet we could even make jellicles of them."

Everyone nods and soon Munku is out the door, running to his den. As soon as Munku leaves the den, the orange queen begins to stir and moan. She tosses about turning onto her left side. Her eyes slowly open, only to get greeted by the unfamiliar face of Coricopat. She gasps slightly before looking in confusion and gently touching his face.

"An angel?" she says out loud.

"Angel?" the tom says sitting up with his eyes still closed," We're dead? I only see black!"

The queen sighs and sits up, smacking the back of the tom's head, opening his eyes. He rubs his head and gives a dirty look to the queen. Slowly they observe the room around them and meet eyes with the three large toms looking at them.

"We're going to die, but we're not dead already." The queen says in a quiet voice," They're gonna eat us."

"Oh god, Teaze." The tom says looking to the queen," I just want to let you know, you're a pretty alright sister. I wouldn't want anyone else as my twin."

"Wish I could say the same." She sighs.

"Alright you two, eat up!" Jenny says, coming from the storage area, holding two small bowls filled with cream and hunks of meat.

"W…what's this?" They ask in unison.

"It's the Gumby brew to solve malnutrition." Jenny says with a large smile," You're going to be eating it for a week. We need to get some meat on those bones if you're to be hunting or even playing with the jellicles."

"The what?" the queen asks with a dumbfounded look.

"The jellicles." Al says with a beaming smile," We're a large family. And you have the option to join it."

"A family?" The tom asks in pure confusion.

"You know…" Bismuth sighs," There's always people there to help you when you're down, or you never feel alone."

"Oh enough talking, you two need to eat." Jenny sighs, tapping the orange cat's heads.

The two exchange glances and eye the soup suspiciously.

"Did they poison it?" the queen asks.

"Probably." The tom says.

"No one poisoned anything." Jenny says angrily," Now eat or face the wrath of the Gumby cat."

"You might want to eat, she's terrifying when she's angry." Al says with a smirk.

The cats once again exchange glances and nod. They shove their faces on the food and begin eating very sloppily. They only raise their heads when there's nothing left inside the bowl. They smile widely, faces covered in the white cream. They raise their bowls to Jenny, eyes full of want for more of the delicious food.

"Okay, okay." Jenny laughs," But only if you tell us your names."

"Well, we thought it might be obvious who we are." The tom says with a bit of confusion," We're notorious cats. Haven't you heard of us?"

"You know, tightrope walkers and acrobats." The queen says, quickly standing and standing on her paws.

"Sorry, but I don't know anything about acrobatic tabby's." Al says with a small snort.

"Well then." The queen says, jumping back onto her feet," Guess we aren't as famous as we could be."

"I'm Mungojerrie." The tom says with a large smile standing up quickly.

"And Rumpleteazer." The queen says jumping into the tom's open arms.

"We're the notorious cat burglars of London." They say in unison.

"Is this really something you should be admitting?" Cho asks with a smile.

"Oh, well, no." Rumpleteazer says shyly," But I thought you said we could trust you and be a part of your Cramelie."

"Family." Mungojerrie corrects.

"Family." She repeats.

"You're right." Bismuth laughs.

"I heard we might have a couple of new members to our family." Deuteronomy says as he enters the den, Teazer and Jerrie look shocked at the large brown tom," Are these two?"

"Meet Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer." Bismuth says with a smile," They want to join the family. We could make shining jellicles of them. They're entertaining to say the least."

As if on cue, the two cats begin standing on their paws, lifting them to play patty cake with each other. They then roll down and sit in front of the brown tom and put their paws together and look up to him with large smiles. They quickly wipe their faces and reassume the position.

"Well, I can't say no to that." Deuteronomy laughs," I just need you two to follow me, so that I can find you a den. I'll leave it to Munkustrap and Alonzo to introduce you to the yard, once the sun is up."

"I just 'ave a quick question." Teazer says raising her paw.

"Yes, my dear?" Deuteronomy asks with a smile.

"Is that tom dead?" She asks pointing to Coricopat, still sleeping soundly on the table.

"No, he's just sleeping." Cho answers.

"Then can I 'ave 'im?" She asks with a serious face.

"W…what?" all the cats ask at the same time.

She quickly springs to her feet and jumps on the table, and carefully touching his face with her paw, smiling widely.

"It's love at first sight." She sighs looking to the dumb-founded cats," So can I 'ave 'him?"

"What are you talking about Teaze." Jerrie laughs," You know well, we don't ask, we take."

The two laugh, leaving the others dumbfounded. Deuteronomy soon leaves the den, followed eagerly by the two new jellicles.

It's just a feeling in their gut, but Al and Munku look to each other with smiles, knowing that life id going to get a bit more interesting.


	15. A Cold Day

Quick authors note before this begins: thank you for the support and everything. I'm really sorry about the quality of this chapter, it's really garbage to be honest. I promise the next will be better, but school and life have been getting in the way recently. Thanks for everything, especially TheVoiceOfTheJellicles and HaveYouBeenAnAlumnus. Thank you.

It's only been a week, and already the comedy duo has cemented their place in the jellicles hearts. Rumpleteazer has made fast friends with the three queens of the same age, while Mungojerrie became friends with Munkustrap, Alonzo and even Tugger. The twins are also a hit for the kittens and the adults, being large jokers who love to play pranks on each other.

One semi-chilly day in October, and the queens, Bombalurina, Demeter, Cassandra and Rumpleteazer lay sunbathing, while the group of toms, Tugger, Plato, Pouncival, Mungojerrie, Munkustrap and Alonzo, who are free from training today, play in the center yard. They practice pouncing and fighting with each other making sure not to hurt each other.

"Those boys always try to show off." Bomba purrs

"Or they just want to play with the kittens." Demeter laughs," There's nothing wrong with that."

"Except when our protector values playing more than protecting." Bomba says with a sly smile.

"He's not a protector yet." Deme says dryly," He can be a kitten if he wants to. As can Al."

"Al takes his job seriously." Cassandra pipes up," He deserves to relax once in a while, step off."

"Ladies, ladies." Teazer pipes up," We can't go around and judge the lives of those we don't live. Let the toms play. It doesn't make them less strong if they want to enjoy themselves. I prefer a protector who knows how to have fun, rather than a strict and demanding one."

The queens all stare at the youngest queen, bewildered at the wisdom in her words. It's only been a week, but she's given off the impression of a fun-loving kitten who doesn't get serious, yet her face went cold and hard when she talked. The queens decide to drop the subject and watch the toms some more, until Cori and Tanto enter the yard from training. Cori walks over to the toms to join them, while Tanto saunters over to the queens.

"Ladies." She smiles.

"Hello, Tantomile." The queens smile and nod.

Tanto sits in between Cass and Teazer, and rests her head on her paws. She sighs and closes her eyes, almost immediately falling asleep. Cass and Teazer nuzzle the sides of her head and rest on her shoulders.

"What type of training is your dad putting them through?" Demeter asks.

"I don't know; he won't tell me." Cass sighs," But they get up at ungodly hours and train until midday, then go back after two hours and train until the night. I'm worried about them, Tan falls asleep everywhere, and Cori has become more irritable. I'm scared they might snap if pushed further."

"Cori's irritable?" Teazer asks, resting her head on Tanto's back," I didn't know that. He always kindly smiles to me whenever I talk to him."

"In public he doesn't show it, but at home he won't talk, and if he does it's mostly a yell." Cass says dropping her head onto her paws," He's not as fun as he used to be."

"Then, leave that to me." Teazer says with a large smile.

She slowly gets onto all fours. She gives another smile to the queens, before bursting off in a sprint to the middle of the yard. Mungojerrie, barely seeing his sister get up, moves over to Cori and places a paw next to Cori's just in time for Teazer to pounce on him and knock him into the ground. Silence falls for a few seconds until Jerrie and Teazer break out in laughs, Jerrie pulling Teazer to her feet and around so she hangs off his back.

"Take a rest." Teazer says with a happy giggle," Sorry for the forceful nap."

Quickly Cori gets up, and fiercely glares at the pair. He stands and walks over, and gives out a loud hiss. His eyes begin to glow, and the adults begin to back up while Munku and Al prepare to pounce. Tanto wakes up and begins to run towards her brother, and what happens next is completely unexpected.

Cori gets close, and Teazer shoves her brothers head down and gives a large kiss to Cori, immediately stopping his anger. He looks surprised at the orange tiger queen who pulls back from the kiss with a large smile on her face. His face turns into the same vivid color of red as Macavity's coat.

"A grumpy cat needs love to." She purrs as she jumps off Jerrie and hugs Cori," See, not the grumps gone away."

"W…wha…" Cori tries to say back, but is speechless at the act.

"Everlasting…" Jerrie sighs," Teazer just full heartedly confesses to you, and that's your reaction? Be a tom, own up to the gesture."

"but…but she…" Cori tries to speak again, but loses the words once more.

"Brother." Tanto sighs, placing a paw on his shoulder," She's worried for our health. She's trying to cheer you up. She genuinely wants you to be safe and healthy. The least you can do is ease her worry."

' _Thank her, you dope._ ' Tanto says in his head. Cori nods furiously and carefully places his paws over her shoulders.

"Thank you the concern, Rumpleteazer." Cori says, back to his normal calm state," I'm happy for your attempt to cheer me up."

"Really?" She says cheerfully looking up to him.

"It was very thoughtful." Cori smiles down to her.

' _Brother, you just admitted you liked her kissing you_.' Tanto says in her brother's head as she sighs.

Once again his face flushes as he looks around to his friends who all hold their mouths, trying to hold back their snickering. He looks to the queens who all have slack jaws at his confession. He then looks to the happy queen in his arms, beaming so brightly and cutely it only adds to the blush. He pushes her away gently and quickly walks behind Al and Munk to hide from the queen and cover his head.

"You…you ok, Cori?" Munku says trying to hold back his smile to comfort his friend.

Cori quietly shakes his head, and cowers closely to the ground.

Tanto feels bad for her brother and quickly rushes back to the group of queens and begins whispering. Bomba and Cass grin and get up, while Demeter looks hesitant but nods and gets up as well. The four crouch down, before sprinting to the group of toms.

In a surprise attack, Bomba pounces on Tugger, knocking him to the ground, and nuzzles him happily on i=his cheek before kissing his cheek and jumping off. Cass does the same to Alonzo, knocking him to the ground as well. Demeter pounces onto Munkustrap, but is easily caught in the air. Munkustrap smiles to the queen in his arms, and she blushes hard as she leans down and quickly kisses his cheek.

Bomba quickly releases her from his shocked grip and sets her next to Cass, before standing in between with a sly smile on her face. The toms quickly get to their feet, faces flushed, looking at the queens. Tanto and Teazer soon join by their sides with grins, leaning on Cass and Deme.

"Well, we can't just let one of the toms be embarrassed." Bomba purrs," We thought that we might even the odds."

"Besides, we couldn't let Teazer look like the bad guy." Deme smiles, like Bomba," So we thought to do as she's done."

"Alright, alright." Jenny breaks in, stepping between the two groups," Girls, calm yourselves, and boys, don't get so flustered over a little physical contact."

"B…but Aunt…" Munkustrap starts.

"No buts young tom." Jenny says with a stern face," Now, Deuteronomy has sent me to collect you all, so he can talk to you about the upcoming owner."

The toms glare at the queens and the queens smile to the toms before walking over to Deuteronomy's den. They're welcomed and all try their best to fit into the small rooms. Once everyone finds a seat, they stay silent and listen to their leader.

"Children." Deuteronomy says with a smile," The winter is coming quickly, and with the winter comes an unbearable cold that makes the yard uninhabitable. I'm afraid that you must find a human family before the snow comes. It's the only way to make sure you survive. Your parents and guardians will help you to find your homes."

"But, we don't have anyone like that." Mungojerrie pipes up raisin his paw," You just let us move in."

"Yeah, we don't have parents." Rumpleteazer says raising her paw like her brother," Where should we go?"

"I've thought of that." Deuteronomy says with a smile," I'll introduce you to someone at the winter formal who might be able to take you to a place where you can live."

"Winter formal?" Demeter and Bombalurina ask at the same time, perking their ears up and sitting up from resting on each other.

"Ah, yes, I forgot to mention that part." Deuteronomy laughs," It wouldn't be fair to only recognize the growing adults in the tribe at the jellicle ball. So, along with that ceremony, we hold a winter and spring formal, to welcome and send off winter. We do this to try and make sure none of our family is hurt by the cold. We also recognize the new adults in the tribe, along with mating dances of new pairs."

"So the new adults can dance with their mate at the other dances and be recognized, and not only at the ball?" Alonzo asks.

"Yes, but the dance must be between two adult cats, not an adult and a fledgling." Deuteronomy smiles," So some of you toms have to wait until the winter ends."

The temperature seems to rise in the room from the heat of the blushes on the faces of the toms as they recall the morning. The queens let small laughs out. Demeter smiles up to her big sister, and Bomba smiles down and nuzzles her sister, proud she could actually follow through with the plan.

Bomba has noticed, through the months they've been sister, in the months she's been a jellicle, that Demeter has a more skittish and shy personality, the opposite of her own personality. She's always been shaky, especially since the incident with aunt Grizabella. She's never been the same after that, and all her smiles seem to be more forced than anything. Today is one of the first times in a while where she's smiled from the heart and laughed.

Deuteronomy dismisses the cats, and the group leaves, scattering into their own groups. Demeter, Bomba, Cass, Tanto and Teazer all follow Bomba to the sight of the jellicle ball. They assemble into the middle of the green in a small circle, and begin to discuss.

"There's a formal dance coming up soon, and the toms will be looking for mates. We've got to turn their attention to us." Bomba says with a serious look," If the toms find any other nice queens during the winter, then they might go and invite them into the tribe if you know what I mean."

"There's no way." Cass says but stops and bites her lips," Alonzo is a flirt. A massive flirt."

"If he's a flirt, then Tugger is a full on playboy." Tanto says with a smile," He flirts with all of you and the older queens at least twice daily. Alonzo only flirts with two a day."

"I can't defend him there." Bomba sighs," Which is why I need to net him in now, because otherwise he'll find a queen during the winter and fall for her."

"But, Tanto, who's heart are you trying to get into your paw?" Teazer asks, nuzzling the calico's cheek. Tanto looks around and opens her mouth, but closes it and looks down with a blush covering her face. The other queens suddenly get to attention and look at her with large and wondering eyes.

"It's…well, it's Brutus…" She says quietly.

"What?" The four say in unison.

"He didn't chide me and jeer like the other toms." She says with a smile," He's kind and sweet. He even defended me from Macavity when he wanted to battle me with magical powers. But, he doesn't look at me that way. He's been out finding a mate; he'll probably bring her to the dance…"

"No way, no one would say no to my beautiful and powerful sister." Cass says, smiling to her sister," We'll find out a way to make sure he sees only you at the dance."

"But, how?" Demeter asks, looking to Demeter who smiles widely.

"We're going to dance." Bomba says with a smile, sitting up triumphantly," And we're going to dance so well, that the toms can't help but fall ears over tails for us."

"But how? I don't know how to dance?" Demeter asks," I've only seen the ball. I don't know if I can dance, let alone if I can sing like the other cats."

"Well, that's an idea. Let's sing and dance." Cass says with a smile," If you two are anything like Dimitri, then we'll be a smash."

"Did I hear my name?" Dimitri says, sauntering into the green with a smile on her face," Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear the plan, and I think I know just the way to get you to win the hearts of the toms."

"Really mom? How?" Bomba asks.

"Well, I think I'll show you a few moves, we come up with a great choreography, then find the best song and serenade the kits into submission, until they're begging to chase your tail around all of London." Dimitri says with a smile.

"Will it work?" Teazer asks.

"That's how I got Titus, and Jenny got Skimble." Dimitri smiles," Now, how about I teach you the art of the saunter."

It's been another two weeks, and most of the kittens have found their homes, and the queens have been hard at work on their dance, perfecting it as much as they can. Then Deuteronomy announces that in two days the ball will take place, then after all cats must go to their human homes.

"Bomba, what should we do?" Demeter asks frantic in their nesting den," We've been so busy with the dance that we haven't found a family. What if we have to freeze in the winter?"

"Deme, baby, it'll be fine." Bomba purrs, gently rubbing her sisters back," We can go out tomorrow and find a home. We won't freeze. We'll find the warmest home to call our own."

"y..yeah…" Deme says, turning and hugging Bomba," And we'll find it together."

"Absolutely." Bomba says with a purr.

The next day Deme and Bomba sneak out in the early morning, and walk about the city streets, scared of the new frontier they're facing. The large creatures that span the streets almost step on them many times, but they manage to duck and weave, walking through the different areas. They trace their steps with scratches on the bricks where they walk.

They are chased by large pekes, almost stepped on by the weird large humans, touched forcefully by smaller humans. By the time they reach the suburbs, the two are exhausted. They find a wooden fence with a hole, leading to a large empty yard, and a covered wooden porch. They exhaustedly walk over and plop themselves onto the wood of the deck, and it feels warm.

"This place is larger than I thought." Deme says quietly to Bomba," I thought it was huge when I had to walk with my mother. It's so much bigger and scarier."

Deme shakes as she cuddles next to Bomba, who softly purrs and nuzzles her sister, trying hard to suppress her own shaking. They're both scared and tired, so much so, they rest on top of each other and close their eyes, soothed to sleep by the others heartbeat.

(Authors note: Ok, quick change of perspective, it'll be back to normal in a while)

Oliver Smith, a history professor at a university in London. He's a quiet man who doesn't like the company of others. 35, going on 36, never had a girlfriend or boyfriend, and only calls his parents on the holidays. His main interest in history is Greek mythology and He always likes being alone, especially in his home, where only he lives. It's a nice house, two bedrooms, for the unexpected guest, and a bathroom with a spacious kitchen.

Today, Oliver returns home from the university, tired from the four lectures he had to give. He opens his door and walks in. The still quiet welcoming home into the warmth from the chilly October day. He walks slowly into the kitchen and fills a kettle with water, and places it onto his stove. He turns the stove on, then walks to his favorite chair next to the large window over facing his deck. He sighs as he admires his lawn, the embodiment of his hard work in life. He looks all around, when something catches his eyes.

A gold and red mass sits on a corner of his deck. He quickly gets up and walks outside. He looks to the corner of the deck, sure enough, the mass is still there, but now he sees, fur? He walks over cautiously, and suddenly a red head and green eyes pops up and stares at Oliver. He can see whiskers and a triangular nose.

The red cat stands, keeping eye contact with Oliver, over the separate golden cat. The red cat's eyes, full of fear and curiosity, stare deep into his eyes. Slowly the other cat begins to stir, and opens its eyes, to look at Oliver with its large blue eyes. It to stares at Oliver with fear, but doesn't move much.

The whistle of the kettle, brings Oliver back into reality. He looks to the cats and slowly enters back into his house. He walks into the kitchen and takes the kettle off the heat. He stands still, thinking to himself, then looking towards his refrigerator. He opens it and sees that he still has some milk left. He gets it out and pours it into a small saucer, then places the saucer on his deck, and sits in his chair and watches the deck.

The cats look hesitantly towards each other. The golden cat, slowly getting up and standing next to the red one. The take small steps towards the dish. It takes five minutes, but they reach the dish and hesitantly smell, then look to each other.

Synchronized, they both begin to slowly drink the milk. Oliver watches closely until all the milk is gone. They paw at the dish, and meow quietly. Oliver then gets up once more and walks over to his fridge, getting the milk out once more, and seeing left over fish from the last night's dinner. He grabs it and slowly and silently walks out onto his deck. The cats see him and scurry back to the corner they were in before. He slowly motions to the dish, and refills it with milk, then sets the fish down.

As his hand leaves the plate, the red cat walks over, careful yet quickly, staring Oliver in the eyes as it walks. It sniffs the milk, then walks over to the fish, right next to him and sniffs that as well. It takes a bite, and looks up to Oliver. He hesitantly looks to the cat, who now sits at his feet.

"C…can I pet you?" he asks in a small whisper.

The red cat touches his shoe with it's paw and looks up to him. He slowly reaches down, his hand outstretched. The red cat watches his hand, and once it's close enough reaches up it's head and purrs as it makes contact. He gently rubs, and the cat purrs louder, moving with his hand.

He smiles widely as he kneels down and begins to pet it as much as it'll allow. He then looks to the golden cat, who still sits hesitantly watching him. The red cat looks back and quickly walks over and nuzzles the golden cat towards the milk and fish. The golden cat looks scared up to Oliver, who graciously backs away to the other side of the deck.

The golden cat sniffs and hesitantly eats some fish and drinks some milk, hiding behind the red cat. He watches as the fish slowly becomes bones and the milk runs dry. After about two hours, the two cats, sit next to the plates, purring happily as Oliver watches.

The sky has gone dark, and the cats look up to the almost full moon. He slowly gets up and watches the cats who watch him back. He opens the screen door and looks at the cats, holding open the door.

The cats look to him, then to the door. They then look at each other, then back to Oliver, before sprinting away into his yard, only illuminated by the moon.

He feels a strange sense of disappointment, but goes into his house and fixes dinner, then goes to bed, wondering about those mysterious cats. The red one seemed to be like Athena, trusting kind and wise, while the golden one reminded him of wheat and the goddess of harvest, Demeter. If they come back, that's what he'll address them as. Athena and Demeter.

"What was with that human?" Demeter asks as they run away from the house.

"It was nice, and even invited us inside." Bomba says with a smile," We may have found a home."

"Really? Are you sure?" Demeter asks, turning the corners quickly after her sister.

The two sprint down streets and turn until they finally reach the entrance to the junkyard. They hear a large wail from inside, and without a moment to catch their breaths, they sprint into the yard and quickly make their way into the main yard, where all the heads of the cats turn to them.

The two gasp and pant for air, tears in their eyes from the pain in their lungs due to overwork. They look to the adults, but are quickly swept up by Dimitri and Titus in a hug, while they sob loudly. Deme and Bomba look to each other in confusion, still panting.

"Where the hell were you?" Titus says angrily, tears falling on his daughters," We thought that Grizabella came to get you and stole you away."

"W…we…Bom…Dem…" Dimitri cries loudly.

"S…sorry…" Bomba pants out.

"W…we…found a…human…" Deme says breathlessly.

"You could've stayed with us for Everlasting sake!" Titus yells, squeezing his girls tighter," Never, never do that again."

"Yes, daddy." Bomba and Deme say at the same time, hugging their parents tightly, before passing out from exhaustion.

Tomorrow is the winter formal.


	16. Winter Ball (warning, really long)

As the sun rises on the day of the winter ball, Demeter and Bomba sleep quietly in their nests, while Jenny and Jelly take a quick look over them to make sure nothing is out of place. They let out a sigh when they see the girls have no broken bones, cuts or even bruises. The spent a day out of the yard and didn't sustain a single injury, except for the small calluses that have built up on their paw pads, but that's normal for a queen.

Jenny and Jelly both gently pet the girl's heads, and they purr with smiles on their faces. The two J's walk out of the den room and into the main den where Dimitri and Titus look at them with anticipation.

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with them, they're just tired from running around all day yesterday. Give them some time to rest." Jenny says with a smile.

Dimitri and Titus sigh with relief as they bid the queens goodbye. They peek into the den room and watch their two little one's sleeping. Demeter is curled up under the arm of Bomba, whose face is buried in Demeter's mane. They snore very quietly, showing no signs of waking up soon. Titus and Dimitri return to the main den and sit across from each other.

"Everlasting, those girls will make me lose two years of life, I tell you." Titus sighs as he places a paw to his head," They sneak off before I wake up and don't return all day, then reek of fish and milk while passing out in our arms. Just what happened?"

"Our girls went and found a home all by themselves." Dimitri says with a sad smile," Bombalurina had never been outside the walls of this junkyard, so the outside world must've been terrifying to her, but Demeter…" She trails off as she sadly stares at the wall.

"She's been through so much outside of this yard, that it must've been harder for her." Titus finishes his mate's sentence for her," The poor kit. She's become so skittish, and was finally beginning to mellow out."

"I wish they would've told me." Dimitri says sadly," I would've went with them. They probably saw so many humans, and so many pekes. I wanted to be with them, so I would know what kind of human they're going to stay with. Now I won't know unless I follow them, but I can't do that."

"No matter what, they're going to be together, Di." Titus says in a sympathetic tone, taking Dimitri's paw in his own," You really don't have to push yourself to protect them. They're strong queens. They traveled the city and didn't receive one scratch, I mean, that's better than Munkustrap's first time out. Everlasting, it's better than my own first time out."

"I know, I know, Ti." Dimitri says with a sad sigh," But that's what scares me. What if they aren't as strong as we think? What if they hurt themselves during the winter and are unable to come back? What if their human moves and takes them away?"

"That won't happen, Di." Titus now wraps Dimitri in a hugs and softly purrs," This is their home. If their human moves, they'll easily find a new one closer to the yard."

"What about Demeter?" Dimitri asks," She's so scared, all the time. I don't want her to run into…to run into…"

"Her, I know." Titus sighs," I'm going to do my damn best to find that scum and make sure she never returns. I'll make sure Demeter has nothing to fear anymore not here or in the outside world."

The two stand in silence in their embrace for ten minutes, listening to the hard bursting with life. While they stand, Demeter sits silently behind the den room's curtain door, listening to any more of their conversation. She had woken up once they began talking about her experiences before the yard.

Her heart strings, maybe from the pain of over exerting it yesterday while running, or from hearing her parents talk about her like she wasn't part of the family. Maybe she isn't, maybe she never has been, and Dimitri and Titus were only being sympathetic to the orphan cat. Either way tears fill her eyes, and as much as she tries to wipe them away and hold back her sobs, she can't.

Suddenly the curtain opens and Dimitri and Titus stand over her, looking concerned at Demeter. They reach down and begin to hug her, but she quickly pushes away and runs past them into the main den, where she pushes herself into a corner and looks at the two with tear filled eyes.

"Deme, honey, what's wrong?" Dimitri asks as she approaches, only to get swatted at by Demeter.

"Don't call me honey." She says quietly," Not when you don't think of me as a daughter."

"What?" Dimitri gasps.

"You've been talking as if I'm a stranger during your entire conversation." Demeter says with an angry sob," I'm just the scared orphan who stumbled into the tribe that you decided to take care of because your actual daughter wanted a sister. You only care about me as a new jellicle, not a daughter."

Demeter opens her mouth to say more, but before another syllable can come out of her mouth Titus is in front of her. He raises his paw and slaps her hard across her right cheek, tears in his eyes as he looks down to the golden cat in front of him.

"How dare you." He says in a cold tone," How dare you accuse me of saying my daughter is a stranger. I don't you're not my biological child, but I certainly didn't just pick you up for Bombalurina. I love you from the bottom of my heart, Demeter. I love you more than you could know, and I'm just scared because yesterday I could've lost both of you. If I lost, you I would tear the world apart to bring you back. On the day you went missing…"

"Ti…" Dimitri tries to intervene, only to get shushed by Titus.

"On the day that queen took you away, and I couldn't find you, I sprinted around the junkyard three times to try and find you, yelling until my throat cracked from over use. I cried when I couldn't find you, and was heartbroken when I had to tell Bomba and Di that you were gone. And when that queen took that corpse and…and…" Titus bites his lip, tears streaming from his eyes," Deuteronomy had to use all of his strength, even Bismuth couldn't hold me back. I was dead set and ready to kill the bitch and her lackey where they stood. I couldn't scream because I had used up my voice, but I've never felt a rage like that in my life. If you hadn't come out when you had, I would've gone and killed her, the lackey and all the scum in the Hidden Paw. But when I saw you, covered in coal dust, I lost all that strength. I fell to the ground and thanked the Everlasting Cat that you were alive in front of me. I couldn't contain myself, I sobbed so hard I burst a blood vessel in my right eye. Don't you dare tell me you aren't my daughter, Demeter, because I would sacrifice my life to make sure you're alright."

Demeter, sobbing on the ground, looks up to Titus who lets small streams of tears fall down his cheeks and onto the ground. She jumps into his chest and sobs. He wraps his arms tightly around her, stroking her head and back while purring. Dimitri then hugs Titus and Demeter tightly as well.

"I'm…I'm sorry daddy." Demeter cried into his chest," I'm sorry."

"It's alright honey." Titus purrs," Daddy loves you. Mommy loves you too."

"I love you." Demeter cries.

The crying and yelling woke Bomba up, and she quickly sneaks into the hug. After a few minutes of the award hug, the family begins to laugh. That laugh when your sad but the awkwardness is to much to ignore. After the family laughs, Dimitri and the girls leave, to prepare for the ball in two hours.

The hours pass quickly, and Bomba, Demeter, Teazer, Cass and Tanto all are made up with pretty hair styles. They groom their fur so it's laid in a perfect fashion upon their bodies, making the almost shine with grace.

The five enter the yard at the same time, after the adults have done their opening to the ball. The toms of choice also enter, and seem stunned by the queens. The queens smile and smirk to the group, before jumping into the next song and dance of the jellicle ball.

After the song, it's a song for the adults, introducing Cho and Exotica through a long song and dance, which Cassandra and Tantomile dance happily in. The other queens split off and sit, panting from exhaustion. Bomba and Demeter sit near the broken television, grooming themselves and watching the dance. Almost on que, Tugger saunters over and offers his paw to Bombalurina.

"How about we dance the night away, my bombshell-lurina." Tugger says with his smile.

"Oh you really Tugger at my heartstrings." Bomba says with a smile as she takes the paw.

They saunter away and begin dancing, leaving Demeter by herself. She sits and watches the dance, trying to ignore the pain still in her lungs. She wonders if Bomba feels the same, but she doesn't voice it and leans back on the frame of the television, sighing.

"That was a long winded sigh." Munkustrap says, surprising the golden queen," What's wrong?"

"Oh, um." Demeter starts, sitting up," My lungs hurt a bit. Yesterday Bombalurina and I had to sprint across the city to get home. It hurt yesterday, and it still kind of hurts today."

"I see." He says sitting next to her," I remember my first day of training, and it sounded a lot like that. My lungs hurt for two days after they tested my and Alonzo's endurance. Let me say, Titus is like a slave driver, no offense."

"None taken." Demeter says with a small laugh," He always has to get Bomba and mom up at nine on the dot, otherwise they don't get breakfast. "

"Yikes." Munku laughs," What about you?"

"Oh I naturally get up at sunrise and watch the sun rise in the presence of the morning mist. It looks beautiful every day." Demeter sighs as she stares into the sky, just reaching sundown," Just like this. It's breathtaking, no matter how many times I see it."

Munkustrap looks at Demeter, watching her natural smile take up her face, and the calm look in her eyes gives him a happy feeling. He too looks to the sunset, only just realizing how mesmerizing it can actually be. He looks back to Demeter and smiles, as she looks even more radiant with the orange rays bouncing off her golden coat.

"Yes, breathtaking." He says with a smile.

Demeter looks to him, looking at her, and a large blush covers her cheeks. She looks down to the ground and fiddles with her tail, glancing up to the silver tom, only to renew her blush. Cho and Exotica's song fades out, and Demeter looks to the dance floor where Bomba and Dimitri are motioning for her to come over. She stands quickly and takes a step before hesitating and turning to Munkustrap.

"In this next song…" Demeter starts taking a breath," Please focus on me."

Without allowing a response to be uttered, she runs into the center of the dancefloor, next to Bomba in her position. Cass, Teazer and Tanto stand to the sides of the floor, waiting for the music to start. Bomba and Demeter face each other, paws outstretched and almost touching each other.

"This next song is from the youngest queens, hoping to pierce some hearts." Dimitri says from next to the jukebox, tapping it and starting the music.

The small tap of the HI hat cymbal starts the music. Bomba and Demeter slowly bend back from each other, only to snap back up at the first snare roll of the song. The HI hat once again only rings in the song, and the two turn in place until they both face the front of the floor. A saxophone begins to play, and the three queens begin to start entering slowly as Bomba and Demeter shake their shoulders down, then slowly raise their left legs high into the air, followed by the three queens who take their places behind the two.

All the queens reach down and slowly place both front paws on the ground, lifting their legs into the air into a handstand. They put their legs together, then slowly bring their right legs down in front of them, and standing up. The instrumental begins to play chord nearing the vocals, and the queens get down on the ground as Bomba remains standing. A saxophone blares loudly and Bomba opens her mouth.

 _Let me tell you all a story, of a queen kits hopes and frights,_

 _Dreaming the same dream, through the day and the night,_

 _Everlasting, please send me a tom, sweet and kind,_

 _One who will love me for me, and always be mine._

Bomba sings loudly and clearly, bringing all attention in the crowd to her. The four queens maneuver their way to sit in a square formation around Bomba. They prop themselves up on their right arms, looking to Bomba and raise their right legs slightly, allowing their tails to swish from side to side. Bomba raises her left leg high enough to spin around and touch the tips of the feet of the other four queens.

 _Alas this dream, can turn nightmarish fast,_

 _For the love of a tom is fragile and won't last,_

 _So a queen must be royal and make a decree,_

 _'The only way to get with me, is to love only me.'_

The queens all jump up and stand in formation of a star as the song amplifies the instrumental. They shake and touch the ground, kicking highly before standing up and looking to the audience with a sultry stare. They hold their arms out and begin moving their hips out and walking forwards.

 _A queen's a loving creature, she loves just one tom,_

 _Hoping, wanting, feeling he's the one_

 _And well, you don't want to break her heart,_

 _So listen here honeys, she here to start._

The queens sing together the chorus, dancing in a sexy manor, locking eyes with the tom they each like. Demeter looks shyly to Munkustrap, who looks caught off guard, but smiles quickly to her. She smiles to him, raising her arms as the other queens go down into the splits and look to her.

 _But we are not as petty as a princess with a pea,_

 _We'll take all that we want, and make sure that we see,_

 _The tom we want inside our paws, or nothing quiet at all,_

 _We know it's risky, and risqué, and an order that's quiet tall_

Demeter begins to move her head around in a circle, the other queens following suit.

 _We'll grab their hearts and squeeze them tight,_

 _As tightly as a snake._

 _And if you think we'll back away, that's really your mistake._

The queens burst into chorus once more, dancing and singing in a seductive manor. They reach the climax of the song and dance with many high kicks and rump shaking, making sure to keep the attention on them. Finally, when the song begins to end, Cass, Teazer and Tanto run to the toms that they want to notice them while Demeter and Bomba stand in the center, in a position similar to how they started.

 _A quick word before we end,_

 _Love us, and don't pretend._

The two harmonize beautifully while they turn and lean against each other, posing for the end of the song. The adults all cheer at the song. Demeter and Bomba bow, as Dimitri comes over and gives the both of them a large hug.

"Well, wasn't that a great song?" Tugger asks as he saunters over," Did you sing that for me?"

"Who else?" Bomba says with a purr, pushing away from Dimitri and looking at Tugger," So, what do you say?"

"I say, that I'll think about it." Tugger says, wrapping his arm around Bomba's shoulder and leading her away," Maybe I'll tell you my answer after a couple dances."

"I don't really like that Tugger." Demeter says quietly to Dimitri," He's going to make Bomba cry, I know it."

"Well, Titus has made me cry a couple times." Dimitri says with a smile," But look at us today. We love each other very much."

"Well, I still don't know about him." Demeter says with a pout.

"About who?" Munkustrap's voice instantly catches Demeter's attention.

"About that troublesome brother you have there." Dimitri laughs," Demeter is worried for her sister, she thinks Tugger will make her cry."

"I think that might be a true statement, though I wish it wasn't." Munku laughs," If I could ask your daughter to dance with me?"

"I believe she would love to." Dimitri says, letting go of Demeter a pushing her to Munkustrap.

Demeter looks to her, before gently placing her paw in Munkustrap's, a blush on her face. Munkustrap guides her to a spot on the floor, and a new song comes on, a slow and melodic tune that no one sings to. Demeter looks around as the adults look on, Teazer is dancing happily with Coricopat, who looks like he's suppressing a smile, Cassandra smiles as Alonzo twirls her around with a laugh, Bomba and Tugger dance seductively and suavely together, both proud and happy, and Tanto smiles widely as Tumblebrutus lifts her into the air and twirls her around. Demeter then turns her attention to Munkustrap.

Munkustrap smiles kindly to her as he takes both her paws and begins to dance slowly with her. One step at a time, he leads her in a calm and heartfelt dance. Demeter observes the silver tom as she dances. He's much bigger than the first time she saw him, his muscles have become large and can easily hold her in the air, as he demonstrates by lifting her easily, his green eyes, shimmering as the moon approaches above. He's perfect in her eye, and her heart begins to beat harder, she can hear it in her ears, and she swears Munkustrap can as well.

"Alright, now we should sit and watch." Munku says as he comes in closer to Demeter.

He guides her to the ground, and directs her attention to the middle of the dancefloor, where Tantomile and Tumblebrutus stand across from each other. Munkustrap leans on Demeter, and hesitantly she returns the favor and cuddles up next to him, a happy feeling in her heart.

Tumblebrutus approaches Tanto, who smiles to him. The nuzzle their heads together, before Tanto turns and raises her arms into the air. Brutus grabs onto her waist and lifts her into the air, creating a marvelous spectacle for the audience. He twirls her around, and the adults begin to walk closer. Brutus lays Tanto down, then lays next to her. Munku guides Demeter over to the pair, then lies down, and she follows, lying next to him.

Once the adults are all in the center, they raise their paws, reaching for the heavens for a blessing of the new pair. They then put their paws down and look at those who they're cuddled up to. Munkustrap looks deeply into Demeter's sky blue eyes, and she stares back at his. She smiles warmly, and he returns the smile. He closes his eyes and leans his head forwards the nocks it on her forehead, purring. Demeter closes her eyes as well, holding Munku's paw and purring herself.

After thirty seconds of silence, the music suddenly changes to a high tempo beat. The cats all jump up and smile happily. They look around and begin to dance, joining into the dancing group nearest to them. Demeter looks at Bomba who reaches for the sky then shakes down to the ground, and begins to follow suit, while Munkustrap follows Alonzo's lead and shakes back to throw his arms as he comes up.

A large dance starts, and Demeter quickly rushes to the side, heaving as her she clutches her chest. Her lungs and heart hurt and ache more than anything she's felt before. She coughs, and coughs some more until she has to place a paw in front of her mouth to try and stop the coughing herself. Munkustrap sees this and quickly rushes over.

"Deme, are you alright?" He asks, his voice dripping with concern.

Demeter lowers her paw to speak but is horrified to see blood in her paw. She looks with eyes filling with tears to Munkustrap, who looks just as horrified as her. He quickly picks her up, and she begins to cough violently once more. He rushes onto the dance floor, straight to Jenny. Jenny looks down with a happy expression, which quickly turns into horror, and the dancing stops as Demeter's coughs fill the air.

"What happened?" Titus asks, shoving cats out of the way to get to see Demeter, coughing violently into her paws, some splatter landing on Munkustrap's fur, but he doesn't seem to mind as he carefully nuzzles her cheek.

"My den now." Jenny says in a panic, sprinting off the floor, Munkustrap following behind closely.

Coricopat and Tantomile also seem rife with panic as they to sprint with Jenny. The rest of the cats stay on the floor, Bismuth holding back Titus who tries to follow the orange tabby. Exotica holds Dimitri who sits horrified as she watches the four disappear into the night. Bombalurina holds onto Tugger, tears dripping down her cheeks. Her knees give out under her, but she's quickly grabbed by Tugger.

As the four enter the den, Munkustrap quickly sets down the gasping Demeter, a small trickle of blood running down her mouth. He holds her paw as Jenny rushes to her store room and the twins quickly sit next to each other, opposite to Munku, their eyes glowing with worry as they look up and down the young queen. Tanto gasps and Cori soon whips his attention to where she's looking and gasps as well.

"What is it?" Munku says worriedly.

"She has scabs inside her lungs." Tanto says with concern.

"They're fresh, and they're bleeding, bleeding quite a bit." Cori finishes.

"If we can coax her into stopping the coughing, they might heal over." Tanto sighs, gently touching Demeter's face covered in blood and tears as she pants," They might leave some scarring, but we can't do anything about that."

"How can we get her to stop coughing." Munku asks, holding tightly to her paw.

"We make her sleep." Jenny says, walking out with a rag, a brown bottle and a needle," it's the only way to actually make sure she won't cough and irritate the wounds."

"What are you going to do?" Munkustrap asks, ears getting pinned in his skull.

"Sing to her." Jenny says as she sets down the materials just out of view of Demeter," I need you to sing to her to distract her."

The room goes deathly silent for a second before Munkustrap takes a deep breath and begins to sing sweetly to Demeter.

 _My dear, my darling, my light in the dark,_

 _Please listen to me, as I talk in my part._

 _You are, you are, the most beautiful queen,_

 _If I could I would want to give you everything._

 _My love, my dearest, the light of my eye._

Jenny covers the needle with liquid from the brown bottle. She then quickly sticks the dealing into Demeter's neck and she lets out a small cry.

 _Oh please, oh please don't cry._

Munkustrap sings. Demeter looks him in the eyes as smiles, before they begin to droop closed. Munkustrap hums quietly as she falls into a deep sleep, even becoming limp in her paw which he holds. She breaths in and out calmly, no more coughing. Munkustrap sets his side beside her and holds her paw, watching her with an intense concentration.

Tanto and Cori stare as well at the sleeping queen, watching the blood slowly absorb back into her body. They also watch her heart, begin to slow down and speed up at random. Jenny says nothing as she puts her supplies back and walks into the den to sit in her favorite spot and begin crocheting. She occasionally looks to the door with a dead eyed glare.

She sees the white paw of a cat start to enter, and she pounces at it, hissing and swiping as Dimitri tries to enter. Dimitri looks shocked at Jenny's actions. Jenny only glares at the mother, swiping as she tries to approach.

"Jenny, what's going on?" Dimitri asks with fear in her voice.

"If you come in, that poor kit will wake up and begin coughing up blood again." Jenny says in a cold voice," No one is allowed to enter, or exit."

"Again?" Dimitri gasps in pure horror," She's been coughing up blood?"

"Yes, and we're trying to fix that, but in order to do that you need to stay away. Everyone needs to stay away." Jenny says angrily.

Dimitri bites her lip and worriedly looks past Jenny. She sighs and nods sadly, walking away from Jenny. Jenny then sits at the front of her den, and glares at all passersby. She swipes at anyone who dares to talk to loudly, scared Demeter might wake up and begin coughing once more. After a half an hour, the music begins playing loudly once more.

Jenny walks back into the den quietly, to see the three awake cats still concentrating on the asleep queen. She walks over and gently taps on Munkustrap's shoulder, making him jump slightly, but he turns to look to her. Cori and Tanto also look to Jenny. She motions quietly to follow her out of the den. They nod and follow her.

"You three need to get back to the ball." Jenny says straightly as the three sit in front of her outside the den," You three are officially being recognized as toms and a queen today. You must be present."

"But Demeter might fall into a fit." Tantomile says with concern.

"I'll monitor her, so that nothing will happen to her." Jenny says sternly," Now go."

The cats open their mouths to protest, but Jenny glares at them, and they quietly nod and run back to the festivities, leaving Jenny by herself. She sits guard out front, keeping a high guard and ear on the interior of her den.

Munkustrap leads the three into the green of the yard, where the cats are dancing with smiles on their faces that seem relatively forced. When she spots them, Dimitri sprints over to them and looks worriedly to the three. Munkustrap smiles and mouths the words,' she's fine.'

Dimitri sighs and smiles, hugging the three, before pushing them into the center of the floor, where they are soon joined by Alonzo. Cho stands before the twins, Bismuth before Alonzo and Deuteronomy makes his way to stand in front of Munkustrap.

"Tonight we witness the growth of the tribe!" Deuteronomy announces to the crowd," We welcome the new adults into our tribe."

"Coricopat and Tantomile." Cho says loudly, outstretching his paws to reveal two identical thin leather collars with a single tag ring on both," Welcome to the official jellicle family."

"Alonzo." Bismuth after Cho, presenting Alonzo a black and white leather collar to match his fur," Welcome to the jellicle family."

"Munkustrap." Deuteronomy says with a kind voice as he presents Munku with a black collar studded with small silver studs and a single tag ring," Welcome to the official jellicle family, my son."

The cats take the collars from their parents and place them on their necks. Their fathers then tighten the collars around their necks, fitting snuggly onto their necks. The four cats stand proudly as they look to the crowd and smile, their fathers making their way behind them.

"Welcome the next generation of jellicle cats!" Deuteronomy yells, and a roar of cheering follows," Life to the Everlasting Cat!"

"Life to the Everlasting Cat!" The tribe repeats.

Dancing then breaks out in happiness. Everyone is happy and dancing, except Bombalurina who looks around for Demeter, but looks sadly to the ground when she can't see her precious sister. Small tears fall onto the ground in front of her as she looks to the happy faces of the adults.

"What's wrong, Bombshell?" Macavity asks jumping from the pile above her and sitting next to her with a smile on his face.

"Is that where Tugger got that from?" Bomba laughs, and Macavity flinches slightly.

"Anyways, why are you sitting here, crying while the tribe celebrates my brother and his friends?" He asks, gently wiping away her tears.

"Demeter had to be rushed away to Aunt Jenny's den because she was coughing up blood, and the cats who took her are back, but Deme is nowhere to be seen." Bomba's tears fall down her cheeks in larger amount now as she sniffs," I just want my sister to be alright. I just want to know if she's okay."

"She was hurt so badly; she's coughing up blood?" Macavity asks, trying to hide his smile.

"Yeah." Bomba says wiping her tears.

"Well, I'll go and check on her." He says with a smile," I'll make sure she's alright. I'll even look after her until Jenny can come and get you, or Demeter can."

"That's so sweet Macavity." Bomba says with a smile, hugging the ginger tom," Thank you."

"Your welcome." Macavity says with a grin as he hugs the queen back. He lets go, then snaps his paw pad together and disappears from in front of Bomba.

Macavity appears behind the pile, and clutches his mouth. This new magic is handy, but it makes him so queasy every time he uses it. He begins to walk towards Jenny's den, where she sits glaring and ears turned back towards her den. He walks up quietly and nods to her, which is replied with a hiss and swipe. Macavity sighs and looks straight into Jenny's eyes, making his own glow.

"You really want to go to the ball and celebrate." Macavity says quietly," You're trusting me to handle Demeter and her condition."

"I'm leaving Demeter to you." Jenny says with a smile before running off towards the ball.

"Sorry, Jenny." Macavity says with a sigh as he enters her den and sees Demeter sleeping on the table, blood now crusty on her mouth and tears still in her eyes.

As he approaches he focuses on her chest, looking inside and seeing the scabs on the inside of her lungs and the small amount of blood still in there. He smirks, and looks to her heart, beating rather slowly for a cat. He reaches down and touches her body, she's cold from lack of proper circulation. He smiles as she shivers at his touch.

"Wake up." He says while he hits Demeter across the face.

She sputters and opens her eyes, looking to Macavity, about to say something, but covers her mouth and chokes back a cough. She looks to Macavity in confusion and fright. Macavity smirks as he hits away her hand from her mouth, and she clamps her teeth into her lip, making sure not to cough.

"I'll make you fall asleep once more." Macavity says with a smirk," But I just needed to confront you about something. Stay away from Munkustrap. He's my last pride in this tribe, and I don't need the dirty hands of an outsider touching him and tainting him."

Demeter looks shocked to Macavity, which pisses his off. He hits her hard in the face, but Demeter only grunts, and keeps her teeth in her lip. Small lines of blood drip down as she looks to Macavity. He grabs her ear and yanks her closer to him.

"If I see you even looking his way…" Macavity says in a menacing voice," I'll give you hell. I'll give you worse than hell could ever produce."

Demeter shivers as he whispers, tears start to stream down her face. He throws her back onto the table and hits her once more. She cowers away from him, and he scratches her on her back, barely cutting her skin, letting only two drops of blood drop.

"Look at me, filth." He demands and she flinches, but looks to him with tear soaked eyes," Good, now tell me you understand what I'm saying."

"Yes." Demeter whispers, leading to another hard whack across her face.

"Louder." Macavity demands.

"Yes." Demeter says louder, in a hoarse voice.

Macavity glares at her, waving his hand over her face, making her pass out immediately. She collapses hard onto the table, landing on her face. Macavity glares at the golden cat, as he moves her back to her original position. He spits on her face before leaving the den and standing outside the den. Jenny and Titus quickly make their way over towards him, fear and panic on their faces.

"Did you do anything to Demeter?" Titus asks angrily grabbing Macavity's mane," I swear."

"Relax, I didn't do anything to her." Macavity says with a sly smile," She's asleep, just like you left her. Now if you'll excuse me. I have to go say goodbye to dad and make my way back to my owner."

Macavity swats Titus's paw off and snaps his paw pads, and disappears. Titus and Jenny look around frantically but quickly dismiss the tom before entering the room, where Demeter is laying still, in a deep sleep. She breaths steadily, snoring ever so softly.

"She looks fine." Jenny sighs thankfully," Return to the party, Titus, I'll watch over her."

"No, I'll stand guard at the door. Bismuth has the party under control." Titus says with an exhausted sigh," There's no use telling me not to."

Titus walks outside the door and stands guard for the next three hours until Macavity's spell wears off and Demeter slowly opens her eyes, shaking as Jenny holds her paw and smiles a small sad smile.

"What did Macavity do to you?" Jenny asks quietly.

"H…hit me…" Demeter stutters out, tears in her eyes," S…scratched me…threw me…cast a spell…on me and…and…"

"And what dear, Jenny's here for you." Jenny says reassuringly squeezes her paw.

Demeter looks to Jenny and leans on her shoulder, crying softly. Jenny hold her closely and purrs. Demeter clings to Jenny, and slowly wipes her tears away, before pushing back and smiling to her aunt. Demeter decides to keeps Macavity's words to herself, she doesn't need to make anyone else get hurt by him.

"Thanks aunt Jenny." Demeter says with a smile.

"Is that a Demeter I hear?" Titus asks, coming into the den with a large smile on his face. He rushes over to Demeter. He gives her a tight hug, nuzzling her head and quietly letting his tears fall.

"Hi dad." Demeter says hugging him back," What did I miss?"

"Well, I'm not quite sure myself. You've been asleep for so long, the ball is long over." Titus laughs," So we should get you home. Come here."

He opens his arms, and Demeter grabs them, and slowly stands up, only to get swept up by Titus. He says goodbye to Jenny and exits the den. He walks across the green towards his den but is stopped by Munkustrap whose waiting in front of the den, looking anxious until he sees Demeter in Titus's arms. Munku walks up and looks to Titus, who smiles to him.

"Demeter, I have to talk to you." Munku says quietly," May I talk to you alone?"

"Just the two of us?" Demeter asks shakily, remembering Macavity's words.

"Yes, if that's alright by Mr. Titus." Munku says motioning to Titus.

"Of course." He says gently setting Demeter down onto the ground," get along you two."

Titus walks into the den, turning one final time and smiling to the pair. Munkustrap offers his paw out towards Demeter. She looks at it, then to Munku who smiles warmly and her heart begins to thump. She feels happy and takes the paw.

Munku begins to lead her to a private area, letting Demeter lean on his shoulder for support. Once they reach a spot, beautifully illuminated by moonlight, Munku sits Demeter down on a large clump of cloth, before standing in front of her, his fur shining in the light. Munku turns away and seems to mutter something before turning back to Demeter.

"Demeter, I know you're not a full queen yet." Munku starts," But I still wanted to tell you this. Demeter, I…I…I love you. I've always thought you're the most beautiful queen in the crowd, even prettier than Dimitri. I've also come to love your voice, your dancing, your smile and everything about you."

Demeter's not sure if she just got a fever, but her temperature seems to rise about a hundred degrees. She looks down and even her paws are red. She looks back to Munkustrap who approaches her and takes her paws in his.

"Demeter, what I'm trying to ask is…" Munku stutters for a second before locking eyes with her," Will you be my partner for the mating dance at the Spring Ball?"

Demeter gasps, unaware of the small tears in her eyes, and a large smile widens across her face. She nods frantically and pounces on the silver tom. She squeezes his shoulders as tightly as she can.

"Yes, yes." Demeter says quickly," I would love to…"

She suddenly stops and gasps, pushing away and gets up looking around frantically. She then looks to Munku with pain in her eyes as she jumps off and sits on the cloth, wrapping herself in a ball, looking around frantically. Her heart now races in fear as an electricity in the air makes her anxious.

"Deme, what's…" Munku starts.

"Macavity!" Demeter says loudly as the ginger cat appears out of nowhere behind Munkustrap.

Munku turns quickly to his brother, who quickly places his hand above Munku's face, making him fall into a daze. Macavity glares at Demeter, fire in his eyes as he reaches down and grabs the queen hard by the throat. He holds her in the air, she chokes struggling to try and touch the ground.

Violently, Macavity throws Demeter to the ground and bears his fangs, lunging down at the queen as she tries her hardest not to cough. Without warning a paw comes out of the darkness and nails Macavity in the face, sending him stumbling, and making Munku snap out of his trance.

Bomba stands protectively above Demeter, letting out a loud guttural shriek as she jumps on the tom and tears at him with her claws. Munkustrap quickly takes her off and restrains her. She yells curses and insults at both toms, struggling and breaking free of Munku's grip, to run and stand over Demeter. Macavity glares at the maroon queen, but Munku quickly stands in between them, and glares at Macavity.

"What's so appealing about a damn stray who thinks it belongs." Macavity hisses at Munkustrap," You could do so much better."

"I can't do better than perfect." Munku says in a cold tone.

"That thing's far from perfect!" Macavity yells, red sparks running through his mane," It's a whore! It's weak and it's a horrid influence on you!"

Munkustrap silences Macavity with a heavy handed smack to the tom's jaw, making him fall to the ground and groan. Munkustrap glares at Macavity with a deadly serious expression.

"Her name is Demeter, not it." Munku says angrily," No leave, while you still have mercy."

Macavity looks shocked to his brother, but clicks his tongue and looks past him to the quivering Demeter and livid Bombalurina.

"I'll be back." Macavity hisses, before snapping his paw pads and disappearing.

"Macavity's not there." Bomba says in shock," He's done that before."

Munkustrap quickly turns and walks over to the sisters. Bomba graciously moves out of the way and Munku collapses into a hug on Demeter. He holds her tightly, shaking from anger. Demeter hesitantly hugs the tom back, and buries her head in his neck, trying to stop her tears.

"Don't let anything my brother says affect you." Munku says quietly," The moment he lays another paw on you, I'll tear him apart faster than a Peke eats its food. I choose you and no one else."

Demeter just nods in response. Munkustrap moves back slightly and gently kisses Demeter. She smiles a large smile, nuzzling Munkustrap lovingly as he holds her tightly. Bomba smiles at the two, but looks around quietly, making sure Macavity hasn't shown up again.

After a minute, Munkustrap stands and offers his free paw to Bomba, then leads the two to their den, on lookout for the menace. Once they reach the den, Bomba enters first, and Munku holds Demeter's paws and kisses her forehead before nuzzling her happily. She smiles and says goodnight.

That night Demeter doesn't close her eyes, as she cuddles next to Bomba. She fears for her life, knowing she's locked her fate for the rest of her life.


	17. Winter Starts

The next morning, Demeter wakes up Bomba just after sunrise. Bomba struggles to get up, but Demeter is there to help her prop herself up and walk her into the den. Dimitri and Titus smile at the two, and the two smile back.

"Are you two ready to go to your family's house?" Dimitri asks," Today, all cats must go to their human's house. It's been decreed by Deuteronomy."

"I believe we can get back there easily." Bomba says with a smile," a few rights and a left and we'll be there."

"I'm still skeptical about that human." Demeter whispers to Bomba.

"He's a kind man who fed us and who enjoyed petting me." Bomba says with a huff," He's our new owner."

"Alright, sister." Demeter says with a sigh, knowing she won't change her mind once she's determined.

After a quick meal, Titus escorts the girls out into the yard, where the young cats all stand saying goodbye to each other. As soon as they make eye e=contact, Cassandra runs over and gives Demeter a large hug, purrin happily.

"Good to see you to Cass." Demeter says with a smile hugging her friend," Be safe over the winter."

"You as well." Cass purrs," You're a disaster magnet. Bomba's going to have her paws full."

"Don't remind me." Bomba sighs, hugging Cass after she lets go of Demeter.

Rumpleteazer walks over and hugs Demeter tightly, not saying anything. She releases and smiles widely before moving over and hugging Bomba. Tanto and Cori walk up to Demeter and stare hard at her, their eyes glowing with power. They smile and sigh, before gently hugging Demeter.

"Just be safe." Tanto says with a sigh.

"I will. I promise." Demeter laughs.

After a few seconds the twins release Demeter, and walk over and give Bomba a hug. Soon Demeter locks eyes with Munkustrap, who smiles to her. She walks towards him, ignoring Alonzo's attempt at a hug and Mungojerrie, spouting jokes trying to get her attention. She walks up to Munkustrap and wraps him in a hug. Munkustrap squeezes her, setting his head on hers, as he smiles and purrs.

"Did they finally confess?" Alonzo asks loudly to Mungojerrie with a stupidly large grin.

"I don't know, but Munk looks like he's having a good time." Jerrie laughs with a smile.

Munkustrap opens his eyes in a glare directed to Alonzo and Jerrie who immediately shut up. He focuses his attention back to Demeter, who happily purrs in his arms. He smiles and leans towards one of her ears.

"How about we meet back here for the new year?" HE whispers in her ear.

"That sound nice." Demeter says with a small purr.

Munkustrap gently nuzzles her head before letting her go back to Bomba. After another few minutes of goodbyes, they cat head out to their homes. Bomba and Demeter walks slowly down the roads, making sure Demeter doesn't over exert herself. She walks while leaning on Bomba, and it takes most of the day to get to the house. They slip in through the fence and walk up onto the deck. Demeter sits on the wood and pants slightly, as Bomba scratches on the door and meows loudly.

There's no response. Bomba huffs and walks over next to Demeter, who's struggling to keep her eyes open. Bomba smiles and nuzzles her, laying her head on Demeter's. Demeter begins to close her eyes and fall into a deep sleep, knowing Macavity isn't near.

It was a long day at the university, and Oliver was getting home rather late. He feels exhausted and walks into the dark house, throwing down his coat and briefcase. He sighs and walks over to the chair, looking out on his yard. It's only October, but he can't wait for the winter break. He breaths deeply, calmed by the view.

Suddenly a quiet rapping on his wall outside his window startles him. He stands and tries to look under the window, only to see a small spot of red. He quickly rushes outside to his deck and looks to sees the red and golden cat that visited two days earlier. The golden cat seems fast asleep while the red cat looks at Oliver in his eyes.

"Would you like to come inside?" He asks, holding open his door.

The red cat looks at Oliver before it looks down to the golden cat. Oliver slowly walks over to the pair and reaches down slowly. The red cat reaches up and purrs as Oliver pets it. He then reaches down to the golden cat, who gently breaths in and out. He touches it gently, and a small purr comes from it's mouth.

"May I pick her up?" Oliver asks the red cat.

The red cat seems to nod, so Oliver carefully maneuvers his hands under the golden cat and brings her into the air, holding her close to his chest. She purrs quietly as she lays in his arms, that it seems to almost warm his heart.

He walks over to his door and slowly opens it. The red cat walks into the house and begins to eagerly sniff around. Oliver sets the golden cat onto his favorite chair, while he rushes around the house, turning on lights and making sure the heating system is going. After he sits down on the couch adjacent to his chair and looks at the still sleeping cat. The red cat jumps onto the couch and sits beside him, placing her head on his lap.

"What do you think of the name Athena?" He asks as he gently pets the cats.

She purrs in response. He laughs to himself, and pets her, knowing she likes the name. He looks over to the golden cat, starting to move around, waking up. She soon opens her eyes and looks around frantically, before locking eyes with Oliver. She walks into the back of the chair, glaring at Oliver.

"Do you like the name Demeter?" Oliver asks with a smile.

The golden cat looks very surprised and lets out a small meow, which is quickly replied to by Athena. Demeter looks at Oliver again, before the window catches her attention. She quickly looks outside, and seems to be astounded at the sight. She sits and watches outside, as Oliver watches her.

The cats get used to their lives in the house. The human leaves at seven and comes back at six on most days. Bomba loves him and her name, but Demeter is still skittish around him. In the middle of November the girls lounge about as the human exits the house.

"The human's gone again." Bomba sighs as she stretches on the couch," What should we do? Play around?"

"I don't want to." Demeter says coldly as she looks out the window.

"What are you looking for out there?" Bomba asks, slight worry in her voice.

"I just." Demeter says before clicking her tongue and looking down to her paws," I'm scared that he'll pop out from behind the fence. I'm scared that our peace is going to be disturbed."

"Macavity." Bomba sighs, remembering the night of the ball and how she had snuck out to watch her little sister get confessed to, only to have to confront an old friend threatening to kill her.

"What should I do, Bomb?" Demeter sniffs quietly," I'm just so scared, all the time. I'm scared of Macavity, I'm scared of Grizabella, I'm even scared of the human."

Bomba looks sadly to her sister, jumping off the couch and sitting next to her. She sits down next Demeter, who immediately places her head on Bomba's chest, sobbing quietly. Bomba purrs, gently petting Demeter's back, before coming up with an idea.

"Hey, Deme, do you know how jellicles deal with fear?" Bomba asks softly, to which Demeter only replies with a sad shake of the head," We sing the fear away. We take the tension and break it with a catchy tune."

Bomba begins to hum, gently pushing Demeter away to jump onto the ground. She says her hips from side to side, dancing slowly to the beat in her voice. The tune gets stuck in Demeter's head, and she feels herself unconsciously humming the tune as well. Once Demeter starts to hum loud enough Bomba begins to sing.

 _Macavity's a ginger cat, he's very tall and thin._

 _You would know him, if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in._

She strikes a silly pose, one paw on her head, one at the base of her tail. Demeter can't hel but smile at the gesture.

 _His brow is deeply lined with thought; his hair is highly domed._

Demeter jumps down and dances with Bomba singing the next line.

 _His coat is dusty, from neglect. His whiskers are uncombed._

 _Bomba (B): He says his head from side to side, with movements…_

 _Demeter (D): Like a snake! And when you think he's half-asleep, he's always,_

 _Both: Wide awake!_

The two begin to gain energy jumping around and dancing together loudly.

 _Both: Macavity, Macavity! There's no one like Macavity! For he's a fiend in feline shape,_

 _D: A monster,_

 _B: Of depravity._

 _Both: You may meet him, in a bystreet, you may see him in the square,_

 _B: But let him snap his paws and then,_

 _Both: Macavity's not there._

Demeter jumps onto the couch, taking in a large breath as a smile grows across her face. She feels truly relieved singing all these fears away.

 _D: Macavity's a lone wolf cat, magical and unseen._

 _He creeps in through the shadows, sneaking is his thing._

 _B: He lies and cheats, full of deceit, his grin could curdle milk_

 _But charms you slowly with his eyes and voice as smooth as silk._

 _D: He sends you into madness, with a wave of his paw._

Both Demeter and Bomba throw their paws up as if falling under a hypnosis spell.

 _D: He'll beat you black and blue, then pretend like he never saw._

With this line, the smiles fade away. Demeter touches her cheek, still tender with a bruise from when Macavity threatened her. Bomba scowls at the thought that Macavity has done that to Demeter. They look each other in the eyes and take deep breaths.

 _Both: Macavity, Macavity! There's no one like Macavity!_

 _There never was a cat of such, deceitfulness and suavity._

 _B: He always has an alibi!_

 _D: And one or two to spare!_

 _And when you want to find him most,_

 _Both: Macavity's not there!_

They dance more aggressively, with high kicks and sharp movements accompanying the scowls on their faces as they think of their hatred for the ginger cat. They suddenly stop and look to each other in fear.

 _Both: Let's hope he never finds a home among the hidden paw._

 _B: Under the fearsome Growltiger._

 _D: Grizabella, no Grittlebone._

They look forwards and shake their heads before raising their right paws and starting to walk backwards.

 _Both: They're nothing more, than agents for a cat who all the time, can control an operation_

 _A Napoleon of Crime!_

 _Macavity! Macavity! There's no one, like Macavity!_

 _For he's a monster clothed as a cat!_

 _A psychotic monstrosity!_

 _Wait until the spring comes, and pray to Everlasting that,_

 _We never,_

 _Ever, Ever, Ever_

 _See that malicious evil cat!_

They end and strike poses, breathing heavily from the exercise and the singing. They collapse on each other and begin to laugh. They hum loudly and sing a few notes in between the laughing. They smile before falling asleep on each other in the middle of the floor. A normal day in winter.


	18. Christmas Stories

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer met Bustopher Jones at the Winter Ball, and followed him to his home in Victoria Grove, and immediately fell in love. They came up with a genius plan. They weren't only going to have one home, not the whole neighborhood would be under their control. By Christmas they've become official members of the family in the Robinson house, and the Jones, and the Smiths, and the Richard's and every other house in the neighborhood. They've learned to respond to the names, Mittens, Stockings, David, Angel, Tiger, Victoria and Jeremy. The twins would never spend the night in the same house, with the exception of one house, their favorite house, the Richard's house.

The family consists of a mother who makes the best warm milk, a father who gives the best pets, two daughters who spoil the twins rotten, and a son who's alright. This is the only family that knows there's actually two cats, because on the first day they tried to move in, they appeared in front of the two girls at the same time, and were taken in immediately.

Here, their names are Mittens and Stocking, with Teazer being Mittens and Jerrie being Stockings. They decide to spend Christmas here, in this home. They sneak in at eleven at night, and make their way to their personal fluffy bed that the girls had bought for them a week prior. It even has a small name plate on the front with their names on it. The two comfortably snuggle up on each other, a feeling that they've been lacking for a few days. They fall asleep quickly.

They're woken up with a start as their yanked from their bed by the two daughters who quickly rush them downstairs and in front of the large tree that's been in the front room for a month. Both cats have knocked down their fair share of the shining balls on the tree, but neither was around once the mess was discovered.

The two sit, tired and confused at what's going on, let alone what time it actually. Before they can even yawn, two large and sparkling boxes are placed in front of them, covered in red ribbons. Teazer reaches out and touches the ribbon, which easily gets stuck on her claw. She freaks out trying to get it off, shaking her paw furiously, while the family laughs.

The oldest daughter removes the ribbon from Teazer, then opens the box in front of her. She takes out a very nice leather collar, decorated with small silver bells and a golden nameplate on the front reading 'Stockings'. Teazer exchanges looks with Jerrie and both smile and try their hardest to not laugh. The oldest daughter places the collar on Teazer, making sure it fits snuggly.

The second daughter then opens the box in front of Jerrie and pulls out a beautiful string of pearls that has a small silver nameplate handing in a single loop in the front with the name 'Mittens' engraved in the silver. She gently puts it on Jerrie. Once it's clasped on, the two cats sprint away, nearly biting their tongues from holding in their laughter. They run into a closet door left slightly ajar next to the kitchen. Once inside the two burst into laughter, rolling onto their backs, holding their stomachs and letting small tears fall out of their eyes.

"Y…you look beautiful, m'lady." Teazer laughs to Jerrie as she motions for him to turn away from her, which he does. She begins to fiddle with the clasp of the pearls, getting them off her brother.

"Why thank you, sir." Jerrie laughs back as he turns and takes Teazer's collar off, replacing it with the pearl string. Teazer turns and puts the leather collar on Jerrie. After laughing some more, the two fall together and sit back to back, touching the collars and smiling.

"Hey, Jer…" Teazer says quietly," Is this our home now?"

"I think so Teaze." Jerrie says with a happy sigh," Funny, isn't it? We were street cats for so long, we had to steal in order to survive."

"Yeah, it was pretty bad, wasn't it?" Teazer says with a small laugh," Now we're living in the lap of luxury."

"I'm going to miss it." Jerrie says quickly in a flat tone.

"What?" Teazer asks hesitantly.

"I'm going to miss thieving." Jerrie sighs out, moving away from Teazer," You can't say you don't as well, Teaze. I know as well as you that the adrenaline rush of running away from a fresh scene can't be matched by anything."

"But we don't do that anymore." Teazer says in a tone trying to end the conversation as she stands up. Silence falls between the two.

"We could take it back up." Jerrie says turning to his sister," We wouldn't do it for the money, just for fun. We could even give the stuff to the jellicles! Helping our friends, and doing what we love. You can't say no to that."

No response from Teazer. Jerrie quietly walks up behind her and touches her shoulder. She turns to face him with a large grin on her face as she hugs her brother.

"Of course I want to take it back up." She laughs," If I can help Demeter and Tanto, and the rest then sign me up. When should we start?"

"Tomorrow." Jerrie says with a smile," There's going to be a lot of juicy loot from today. We'll begin our reign of terror once again."

"And you know what they say…" Teazer says with a smile, that Jerrie quickly responds to.

"Mungojerrie…" He says placing his paw out in front of him, which Teazer quickly takes.

"And Rumpleteazer." She responds happily, and they lock arms.

"Have a wonderful way, of working together!" They sing as they walk to the door," And there's nothing at all to be done about that!"

Ever since the jellicle ball, Macavity had spent his days trying to find the perfect home. He walked the streets of London for days, looking for a home and practicing his magic. He finally found a home with the elderly Dennis Rockfeller, who's enjoying his retired life. However, it wasn't the kind old Dennis that convinced Macavity to live there, but instead the neighbors, Burk and Alex Jones, who live with their son Paul and their pure white cat named Starburst.

Yes, Macavity fell for the white furred, blue eyed beauty in the James house, but sadly there was one major flaw in his love. Starburst, as many cats born with white fur and blue eyes, is both deaf and mute. Of course it took Macavity a while to figure that out, two months in fact.

Each day he watched as she sat in her favorite spot in the front window of the house on a small green cushion. She always looks loving to her family as they leave, and once they leave, the real fun begins. She jumps off the cushion, and begins to dance in the front room. It's the most beautiful and elegant dance he's ever seen. She moves slowly, to a tune in her head, but with exaggerated movements that add a bit of depth to her steps, almost playing the melody to those who watch.

Macavity was entrance with her when he first saw the dance. He soon found his way into Dennis' home, and continued to watch her, tapping on the window some days to get her attention, only to not get any response. Every failed attempt makes him more and more aggravated until one day, he sits outside the window watching, when she opens her eyes and stares straight at Macavity.

Her white fur on her face seemed to turn red as the cat runs away into a different room. Macavity quickly runs in the direction she runs. He sees her covering her face in the kitchen. The window is slightly open, so her snaps his paws and warps into the kitchen, knocking over salt and pepper. He jumps down and places a paw on her shoulder. She looks to him and jumps away, hiding behind a chair and looking to him.

"Can I talk to you?" Macavity asks, offering a paw to Star, only for her to shake her head and look at him in confusion.

Macavity grunts and walks over to her, kicking away the chair. Starburst looks to Macavity in fear and frantically moves her paws. Macavity feels infuriated and looks at her, until he realizes what she's doing.

"Are you…" Macavity asks before he moves his paws to his ears and shakes his head.

Starburst nods very hard, a small smile on her face. She then motions to her throat and shakes her head, moving her paws frantically once more. Macavity places his paws over his mouth, then looks to the window and jumps up, before warping outside and running back into Dennis' house.

It took about two weeks, but after practicing and practicing for days upon days, Macavity finds himself in front of the window while Starburst was dancing, her eyes meeting his once more. This time she looks at him and jumps onto her cushion, nodding hello to him. Macavity raises his paws and takes a breath.

' **Hello**.' He signs with his paws,' **My name's Macavity. I'm the cat who lives next door. What's your name?** '

The smile and brightness in Starburst's eyes almost blinds Macavity. She begins to sign fast with her paws, smiling largely at the new friend she found to talk with her. Macavity uses his magic on his eyes to slow down her paws slightly, but able to keep up with her pace.

He finds out her name is Starfire for the first time, he learns that she was born deaf, but became mute when her mother tried to abandon her, leading to sickness and the permanent loss of her voice. He finds her a kind young queen who's a strict indoor policy. She doesn't like the outside world, and has been living in the house of the Jone's for as long as she can remember, about a year and a half.

Macavity spends more and more time with Starburst, communicating through sign language, and less time going back to the junkyard, thus missing the incoming Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. He enjoyed talking, well, signing with Star more than having to risk seeing the ugly yellow outsider, or the gross leopard tom calling himself Macavity's brother.

Soon the Winter Ball was announced, and Macavity decided to go and see his father and friends, as well as to watch his favorite little brother become a tom. To his dismay, his least favorite cat was there, as well as his least favorite waste of fur. He made sure to only talk to his father and relatives, staying as far away from the yellow cat as possible. But he soon saw Bombalurina crying alone on a junk pile, and we all know how that went.

After he left Demeter in a bruised mess, he went back to the ball and said goodbye to Deuteronomy and Munkustrap before going back to Dennis' house and waiting for Star to sit on her favorite cushion. Once she does, he grabs her attention, and she automatically knows that somethings wrong.

He explains what happened at the ball, with a scowl on his face the whole time. Star observes and nods quietly as Macavity signs to her. After he's done, he doesn't dare look her in the eyes, knowing he's done something bad. However, to him, it doesn't feel bad at all, more like an inconvenience than anything.

Soon Star grabs his attention back and signs about her day, with a smile on her face, seeming to graciously stop the conversation that's making her friend so upset. Macavity is relieved that she still smiles at him, and watches her sign, now able to keep up with her without magic. After the conversation he decided to go back and try to apologize to the yellow queen, but we know what happened when Macavity got back to the yard in the night. He gets angry at watching his own brother confessing to the tramp, and comes back in a fuss, only to get soothes by Star once again, making him fall more for her.

This continues, with Macavity's tension building up from his feelings for the sweet and kind Star. As Christmas nears, Dennis has to go off to visit his sons for the holidays, leaving Macavity alone in the house. Macavity happily seizes this moment and isolates himself for three days, not making contact with anyone or anything for all three days, perfecting his present for Starburst for Christmas.

On the day itself, the Jones family leaves to visit family, leaving Starburst alone to sit on her cushion. She looks sad, but brightens when Macavity appears in front of her. He motions to the back of her house, jumping down from the window ledge and running back to her back door, a glass door. Starburst looks at him in confusion. He smiles.

He puts his paws together and slowly pulls them apart, revealing red lightning between his paws, sparking in every direction. At first Star is scared, but soon becomes enraptured by the strange beauty. Macavity presses his paws to the door, and it disappears, without a trace. Star stands, a small cold breeze flowing through her fur.

She looks out at the snowy landscape, it somehow seems beautiful in this morning light. Macavity offers his paws to her, and she hesitantly takes them, stepping into the cold snow. She's never felt a cold like this, it's somehow shocking yet exhilarating. She smiles happily to Macavity, only to have his paws press on the sides of her face and him placing his forehead onto hers.

His lips move, and soon she begins to hear his mumbling. Yes, hear. She pushes away and steps back, shocked at the noise of her paw crunching the snow under her paw. She gasps, now surprised at her own voice. She looks to Macavity with happy tears in her eyes.

"Merry Christmas." He says in a soothing voice that seems to shake Star's heart itself.

She jumps into his arms and quietly sobs at the best present ever. She breaths in and out, then touches her throat gently. It somehow feels different from normal. She pushes away from Macavity and takes in a large gulp. She opens her mouth.

"M…merry Christmas." She says in a small voice, putting her paws over her mouth, more tears fresh in her eyes.

"I hope you like it." Macavity says with a large smile," But that's not the only present I have for you." She presses a paw to his mouth and smiles largely.

"Macavity." She says with a smile," Macavity. Macavity! Macavity!" She jumps around at the sound his Macavity's name.

"Yes?" He asks with a small laugh.

"You gave me a voice." She says looking to him, almost disappearing in the snow," You gave me ears to hear the sound of your beautiful name. You gave me the means to talk to you, a feat I have wished for, for so long."

"I also gave you ears for a special present." Macavity says, walking over and taking her paws in his.

"Yes, what's that?" She asks with happiness overflowing in her voice.

"I love you." He says looking her in the eyes," I wanted to tell you, I wanted you to hear these words."

Her white face becomes the same shade of red as Macavity's coat. She can only look at him, forgetting how to talk once more. She nods her head, slowly at first, but then very fast, jumping onto Macavity and hugging him tightly.

"Me too." She says finally," I love you Macavity. You're the first one to try and communicate with me like that. I've loved you for so long!"

Macavity feels a well of emotions build up in him, as he hugs the queen in his arms. She loves him, and he loves her. The happiness in his heart cannot compare to any other experience in his life. For the first time in a long time, Macavity is truly happy.

"Come back to my tribe with me." Macavity says to Star," In the spring. I want to dance with you and make it known that you're my mate."

Star stops purring for a second, and pushes away to sit in the snow. Macavity looks worriedly to her, and she turns to him, eyes full of sadness.

"Macavity." She says softly," I'm an indoor cat. This is the farthest I've been out of my house. I don't think I can go that far that fast."

"Then what if we gradually help you get rid of your fear?" Macavity asks.

"Then, maybe…but it would probably take a long time." Star says looking to the ground," I'm actually quite the coward. Even this snow scares me."

"Your no coward." Macavity says with a smile," I understand that you need time. I'll give you all of mine. It doesn't matter if you don't dance with me in the spring or even the summer, or even next winter. We'll make it someday, Star, and you'll meet my family."

"That would be wonderful." Star says with a smile on her face," I'll look forwards to it."

Then, in the middle of the day as the sun shines down on the pair, they share a soft kiss, the ultimate Christmas present. They smile, and feel genuinely happy, ready to face their future together.


End file.
